Four Corners of the Earth: Prequel
by entity9silvergen
Summary: At the beginning of Four Corners of the Earth, each of the turtle brothers are living at another part of the world but they don't learn much of each other or their companion's pasts. Now, those pasts and the mutants' time together will be revealed. [Series of related oneshots in the AU] [Disclaimer: TMNT isn't mine] [On Hiatus as of 12/31/18]
1. Warmth

When Splinter contacted Donnie, the turtle was living with Professor Rockwell, April O'Neil, and Rahzar. We all know Chris Bradford was mutated into Dogpound but in this world there was no fight with any Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to make him mutate into the super mutant he is today. And how did a human like April end up with three mutants in the middle of an uninhabited continent?

* * *

Three Years Ago

Antarctica

"Ow!" Dogpound growled as he hit his head on the door leading to the lab. "You shoulda built these things lower."

"Rockwell didn't account for such a large mutant living here when he built the facility." Donnie told him. "And we did build a door for you."

"The hangar door doesn't count." Dogpound grumbled. "I'm the only one who ever goes out into that freezing hell. Why doesn't Rockwell ever go out there and do it? He's psychic, he could probably do that stuff faster anyway."

"Because, my mammoth akita mutant friend, I am needed here in the lab." Rockwell spoke as the two mutants entered the room. "Your mutant body makes you most resilient to the harshness of this land. You know my chimpanzee form cannot survive out there."

"Doesn't mean I like doing it anymore than you." Dogpound mumbled.

"Lighten up, Dogpound." Donnie punched him gently.

"Yes, lighten up." Rockwell said. "You may just have a short period of time away from the cold. You remember my associate Doctor Falco? He's contacted me and informed me that he has obtained some samples of the mutagen that made us all into what we are. He's coming over with his assistant so the five of us can study its properties."

"Four of you." Dogpound said. "It's not like I'll be of any help."

"That's not true, Dogpound." Donnie said.

"I don't have brains like you two. I'm just the brawn." Dogpound shrugged. "I know it, you know it. No use denying it. Besides, I'll enjoy my break."

"Maybe we could hang out with Falco's assistant." Donnie suggested. "Its been a while since we've met anyone new. Maybe he'll be fun."

"I sincerely doubt he'll want to hang out with muties like- wait." Dogpound paused. "Why is Falco… y'know…?"

"Bringing another human here?" Rockwell finished. "Do not be alarmed. He said she has experience with mutants. He was a professor at her school and when her father was mutated, he went to him for help. She proved most useful and took interest in mutants so he took her as his assistant."

"She?" Donnie questioned. "As in a girl?"

"That's typically what that means." Dogpound sighed. "Don't get any ideas, shell brain."

"I'm not 'getting any ideas'." Donnie mocked Dogpound's tone. "I've just never met a girl. At least I don't think."

"That's kinda sad." Dogpound said.

"You two can talk about our upcoming guests when they arrive." Rockwell said. "Right now, I would appreciate it if you prepared the spare living quarters."

"Right O!" Dogpound said.

"We're on it, Rockwell." Donnie smiled.

* * *

A few days later, Donnie and Dogpound were practically bouncing in excitement as they watched Rockwell guide the oncoming plane to the landing pad.

"You're slightly off course, Falco." Rockwell was saying. "Rotate your trajectory six degrees to the left and speed up by 13% and you should land directly on the landing pad."

"Roger that." Falco responded. "I really cannot wait to tell you about-"

"Land now, research later." Rockwell interrupted. "Flying and discussing chemical substances possibly from another world that can alter a being's genetic structure surely do not mix well."

Falco made some disgruntled sound. "Fine."

"So what do you think Doctor Falco's assistant is like?" Donnie asked.

"Probably some boring teenager." Dogpound responded.

"What makes you say that?" Donnie asked sounding disappointed.

"Would any cool person choose to spend their time helping some crazy scientist in a lab?"

"Are you saying I'm not cool?"

"You're a mutant. That automatically makes you cool. But if we were human, I wouldn't be caught dead talking to you." Dogpound told him. Donnie looked slightly hurt then saw Dogpound's grin. Dogpound laughed and Donnie lightened up.

"Oh dear." Rockwell muttered.

"What is it?"

"Falco, some sort of object just appeared on the radar." Rockwell informed. "Its closing in on your location."

"I'm sure it's nothing- holy mackerel!" Falco cried out. "What is that?"

Donnie and Dogpound were at Rockwell's side. "What do you see?"

"It's… some sort of spacecraft!"

Rockwell scoffed and Dogpound and Donnie relaxed. "I did not take you for a jokester, Falco."

"I'm being serious!" Falco screamed.

Another voice came from the background. A female voice. "Professor, its firing up some kind of weapon!"

"Rockwell, we're-" the comm's audio was replaced with audio. The sensors in the lab began to flash signalling the plane was going down.

The three mutants in the lab sprang into action.

"Donatello, prepare the med bay." Rockwell ordered. "Bradford…"

Dogpound nodded and ran out of the lab, remembering to duck his head to keep it from hitting the ledge above the door, and dashed across the lab to the hallway. He paused before one of the doors and slammed a button on the wall beside it.

The door lead to a larger room. On the parallel wall, there was another button which Dogpound hit and the wall slowly began to split into a massive door. Dogpound tore the door open with his enlarged arm to speed up the process.

Dogpound stepped into the familiar cold that was Antarctica. He winced at the feeling of ice against the pads of his feet and the freezing wind in his fur. But now wasn't the time to complain. He had a mission.

"Rockwell, where did they land?" Dogpound yelled over the wind, hoping that Rockwell was following him.

" _Keep heading West."_ Rockwell told him telepathically.

"Got it!" Dogpound responded and bounded in that direction. In the distance, he could see the fallen plane and a stream of smoke rising off of it.

As he neared, another flying object neared the plane as well. It looked like a UFO. It circled the air above the ship before landing beside it.

Dogpound poured more energy into his legs and willed them to go faster. He began cursing this bulky, slow body under his breath.

The UFO had already taken off by the time that he got there. Dogpound ripped a hole in the plane and tore his way in. Almost immediately, he saw a girl lying unconscious on the floor.

"You must be Falco's assistant." Dogpound mumbled. He took a step towards her and the plane lurched. He stopped, realizing the plane hadn't landed in a balanced position. His weight was bound to set it off.

He looked at the girl. There was no way she was just going to get up and walk over. She was shivering violently from the cold already, she would probably die in a few minutes.

Dogpound knew he had to grab her somehow. He took another step and tried to tread more softly this time. The plane only shook a little bit. He took another and slowly began to make progress.

He'd been keeping his eye on the girl but some instinct told him to look up. A storage unit on the roof was open and in it he could see a canister of some glowing substance. And it was leaning dangerously far out of the storage unit.

Sensing he had to hurry, Dogpound took another step but in his haste, he did not step lightly. The plane lurched and the canister began to fall.

In a moment of panic, everything seemed to slow down for him. Dogpound, no longer caring about the plane's balance, took a few running steps and threw his body protectively over the girl blocking the canister from hitting what would be his target.

The canister fell and shattered on Dogpound's back. The glowing contents splashed over him and immediately burned through his fur. Dogpound screamed in pain.

" _Bradford, are you alright?"_ Rockwell's voice entered his mind. _"I sense you are in pain."_

Dogpound could only respond with a louder scream. He felt like something was burning him alive and that something was crushing him at the same time. He felt the thick layer of fur and skin smolder and dissipate. He couldn't breathe, it felt like his chest was ripping itself away from his body. His head pounded as his skull began to shrink and his muzzle began to elongate. He shut his eyes and tried to block out the pain.

After several minutes which felt like hours, the pain faded but wasn't gone. He felt another kind of pain, one that he hadn't felt since he was human. The bitter cold. Looking down at his body, he was his thick, furry arms were replaced with skinny black ones. Looking at his hands, he saw his massive paws were gone and he now had long claws.

Remembering the girl, he checked on her. He sniffed her. He didn't smell death. She wasn't mutated either. He'd kept her safe. Dogpound- no, not Dogpound. He wasn't Dogpound anymore. He was something else. He didn't know what to call himself.

Well, whoever he was picked up the girl and pulled her over his shoulders. It wasn't as easy as he was used to but it wasn't difficult. He climbed out of the plane, it didn't bend under his weight, and onto the ground.

He nearly howled when his foot hit the ground. It was freezing. It felt like his skin was being burned off all over again. He realized his body didn't have any natural defenses against the cold anymore.

He secured her on his back and dropped to all fours, ignoring the burning cold, and began to run towards the lab. Towards home. He found he was going much faster despite his new weakness to the cold.

Pretty soon, he found himself at the door that he'd torn through earlier. He slipped through it. The room blocked out the wind but he wasn't home safe yet. He was too tired to pound at the door so he weakly clawed at it like the hound he was.

"Donnie…" he said tiredly. "Rockwell? Open up… please…"

He doubted anyone could hear him but after a while, the door opened.

"Woah." Donnie said when he saw him. "What happened to you?"

"N-not n-now." he chattered. He realized his teeth elongated into fangs. Not the most comfortable to chatter with. "L-let us in, D-donnie…"

Donnie looked over the other mutant's shoulders and saw the girl draped over them. He'd been so distracted by his friend's new appearance that he didn't notice the girl.

Donnie wasted no time helping the two in. Feeling the warmth of the lab,he began to slump over in exhaustion now that he'd reached safety.

"Not the time to sleep." Donnie told him. He caught him in his arms but the turtle didn't have the strength to support the weight of both of them. He turned and called down the hall. "Rockwell, they're here!"

And that was the last thing the mutant that had once been Dogpound and before that had been Chris Bradford heard before blacking out.

* * *

He woke to the feeling of warmth. After feeling such a cold, he couldn't think of anything that he loved more than warmth. Other than maybe food. His stomach felt more empty than it usually did when he was hungry. Warm food, he decided, was better than anything in the world.

He blinked hard against the lights in the med bay and struggled to come back to full consciousness.

"They're waking up." Donnie said.

At the sound of the word 'they', the waking mutant's head snapped up and he began looking around the room for the girl he'd saved. He relaxed when he saw her on another med bed next to him.

He hadn't realized it before, but she was beautiful. He mentally slapped himself into not looking before he could start, she was way too young for him to be checking out. Maybe in a few years but certainly not now. She was probably around Donnie's age. Maybe twelve or thirteen? He turned his attention to her waking face.

She groaned softly and blinked her eyes open. They were unfocused then fell on him.

"Thanks for saving me, Rahzar." she smiled quietly. She didn't seem put off by the fact that he was a mutant.

"You're welcome." Rahzar smiled back. His chest and face suddenly warm. Neither of them said anything, they were just silent for a few moment

"How are you feeling?" Donnie interrupted their silent stares. Rahzar found himself glaring a bit but made himself stop.

"I'm fine. A bit tired and kind of cold." she told him.

"I'll go get you a blanket." Donnie said and began walking out of the med bay.

"Hey, I'm cold too." Rahzar said.

"You're a mutant with fur and she's a beautiful young human girl, she needs it more than you do." Donnie said. Rahzar gave him a warning look but Donnie ignored it and walked out of the room. "I'll be back with Rockwell in a few minutes."

Rahzar and the girl were now left alone. They looked at each other.

"So… what's your name?" Rahzar asked.

"April O'Neil." she answered. "What's your's?"

"Chris Bradford but they've been calling me Dogpound since I got mutated." he told her. "But I'm thinking that name's not really fitting anymore. I kinda like what you called me. What was that again?"

"Rahzar."

"Rahzar. Rahzar." he experimented with the word. "I like it. How did you come up with that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. When that mutagen fell on you, you started screaming and it sounded like you were saying Rahzar. I guess it kind of sounded like a name."

"You were awake for that?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I can't thank you enough for doing that; y'know, protecting me from the mutagen. Sorry you got mutated."

"Better me than you. I was already a mutant." he said. "Besides, I think I like this better. I'm smaller, faster. I get cold now but I think it's a good trade off."

She giggled. Rahzar tilted his head in confusion. She laughed harder. "What?"

She gestured to the top of her head. "Your ears, they're flipped over like a dog. Its kinda cute."

Rahzar frowned and touched his head. He flipped his ears back in their natural position. He ran his clawed hand across his jaw, feeling the new boney structure. "You don't think I'm scary?"

She shrugged. "Kind of, I guess. Wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley."

Rahzar was hurt for a moment before he realized she was kidding.

Before he could say anything, Donnie and Rockwell came into the room. Donnie put a blanket on April's lap and Rockwell started looking over them.

"You two seem fine." Rockwell announced after awhile. "But you should stay here in the medical room for a few days. Afterward, I would love to discuss what happened today with the two of you and study Bradford's new mutation but until then, get some rest."

Rahzar smiled. He looked over at April. He could definitely wait 'until then' if he had his new friend waiting with him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** First chapter of this story!

This story is kind of just explaining how things happened differently in this world, since its an AU. I'd appreciate any reviews or suggestions. I have some ideas but I haven't written any yet so this'll probably be updated semi-irregularly. Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Crazy Humans

How did Raphael end up in the Andes Mountains? How did Fishface and Slash end up taking in the five year old mutant?

* * *

10 Years Ago

South America

"Shut up!" a Foot Ninja snarled. A few feet away, a small mutant turtle sat crouched in a cage too small for him to stand in. For the first few hours on the plane, the turtle had been hiding in his shell. That had caused some concern among the ninjas but he'd come out about an hour ago and would not stop crying causing all the ninjas to wish that he'd just go back.

"No!" Raph screamed. "I want my dad! And my brothers!"

Raph began calling their names much to the annoyance of the guarding ninjas. The nearest drew a throwing star and jabbed it into the cage. Raph yelped at the cut and started crying harder. A thin stream of blood trickled down his leg.

"Leo?!" he sobbed. "Mikey?! Donnie?! Sensei?!"

"They're not coming to help you." the ninja who cut him said. "Now shut up!"

"No!" If anything, being told not to do something just made Raph want to not do it more. He began kicking at the cage with his unhurt leg. "Let me out! I want my Splinter!"

Another ninja glanced out the plane's window then at the door. "Hey, can't we just toss it out? The boss said to dispose of it but he didn't say where."

A ninja that sat further away from Raph than the others looked at him. "I was looking forward to dropping that thing into one of the volcanoes around here. I hear there's one called Cotopaxi. That one sounds pretty good."

"I really don't want to listen to him until we find it." another ninja said. "Watching him fall into the ocean will be just as fun as watching him fall into a volcano."

"True." the far ninja said. "Open the door."

Two ninjas darted over to the door and opened it. A strong gust of air began sucking some of the loose objects out.

Raph whimpered and shrunk back in his cage as the far ninja neared. "Get away!"

Sensing that the child would put up a fight if let out, the ninja picked up the entire cage and brought it over to the door. He stuck both his arms out holding the cage and stood there for a bit, enjoying watching Raph struggle.

"No!" Raph cried as he looked down to the water below. It was far. He understood why Leo was scared of heights. He didn't want to fall that far. "Don't drop me!"

"There's land about a mile to the East." the ninja piloting the plane said. "Do you want me to steer it over?"

"No." the ninja holding Raph said. "It will satisfy me to know that it had the slow death of drowning."

The ninja released his grip on the cage and leaving Raph to pummel screaming and crying to his death.

* * *

Xever Montes was a simple man. That was a lie, he was not simple at all. Thieves tended not to be simple. But, he had simple pleasures. Swiping a wallet, the smile of a beautiful woman, finding a good knife at a shop.

That was the old Xever. The Xever before he got mutated. He couldn't do those things anymore. At first, it bothered him but he was soon able to find new pleasures. Like swimming, the thrill of a hunt, or finding something shiny to show his land friend, Slash.

That was really all he could do. He couldn't leave the water. A frustration but one he had learned to live with. As a fish, he could appreciate the water in a way that he couldn't as a human and as a mutant, he could appreciate the water in a way that normal fish couldn't.

Fishface floated lazily on his back paddling with his arms in a slow backstroke. This was the closest he could be to being fully out of the water. A good part of his body was above the surface, he just had to remember to keep his gills beneath the water.

The sun felt good against his belly and it was nice to just float without a care in the world. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the shore about a mile away. He could see his friend Slash moving around doing something but Xever didn't really care what. They weren't meeting up until later.

Overhead, he saw a plane flying by. At first, he ignored it then realized that he should probably hide in case any humans came out of it.

"Ah merda." he hissed as he flipped back over. His sun warmed scales hit the cold water. Not the best feeling. He kept his face out of the water though, watching for the plane to pass.

To his surprise, things started falling out of the plane. He had to duck underwater to avoid being hit by some of the debris. It wasn't large but from that height, it could probably knock him out if he not nailed in the head.

"Crazy humans." Xever muttered. "Don't they have better things to do?"

He was about to dive down and search the droppings for anything useful when he heard a voice. He looked up and saw an object larger than the others falling towards him. And from it, he heard the terrified scream of a child.

"Que diabos?! What is wrong with those humans?" Xever snarled. He looked up and tired to pinpoint where the object would fall. "Hang on, kiddo. Xever's gotcha."

As the object hit the water, Xever dived down. He grabbed it firmly in both hands before it reached the bottom. Not wasting time to look over it, he thrashed his tail madly as he tried to get to the surface.

He pushed the object out of he water and tried to keep it up but it was hard to balance. To his horror, he realized he was holding a cage and in it was a possibly dead mutant turtle.

* * *

"Slash, Slash!" Xever swam without his usual cunning towards the shore where the massive mutant was smashing stones.

"Hey there, friend." Slash greeted. "Didn't think I'd see you until sundown. What's up?"

"Look what I found!" Xever was breathing hard. He dragged the cage onto land and pulled himself up as far as he could go. He hated lying on land. He felt like a fish out of water which he was, he just didn't like to be reminded of that fact. But right now he didn't really care.

""Woah." Slash said. "What is that?"

"It's a kid, idiot." Xever told him. "A turtle. A mutant turtle."

"What's he doing in a cage?" Slash asked.

"I don't know! Just get him out so I can check if he's breathing!" Xever snapped. Slash didn't make a comeback. He grabbed a large rock and smashed it into the cage. "Careful, don't hurt him!"

"Since when do you care so much?" Slash teased as he tossed aside the rock and opted for tearing the bars off with his hands.

"Oh shut up!" Xever retorted. Slash ripped the bars off the cage and moved the unmoving turtle towards Xever not caring that he was standing ankle deep in the water.

Xever tilted the turtle so that water gushed out of his mouth. It was really awkward to hold him like that due to not having legs and all but it did the trick. The turtle began coughing.

"There, there." Xever told him. "Get some oxygen into that little body of yours."

He set the turtle back down and began looking over him.

With a large gasp, the turtle's eyes opened and he sat up. Immediately, his gaze fell on Xever.

"How are you doing- hey!" Xever yelped as the turtle kicked him in the face. "What was that for?"

"Get away from me you Fishface!" the turtle said. Slash started laughing. The smaller turtle whipped around at the sound. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of such a large turtle.

"Ha, Fishface." Slash laughed. "Good one."

"The name's Xever." Fishface frowned.

"I'm Slash." Slash greeted. The young turtle's gaze flicked between the two of them, not knowing how to react. Still sitting, he tried to back away from them.

"You're- you're mutants?" the turtle questioned. "Like me?"

"Seems that way." Fishface shrugged.

"I thought we were the only mutants…" the turtle whispered.

"Nah." Xever shook his head. "There are plenty of us. Don't seem 'em much but they're there. Now what's this we stuff? You got a family?"

The young turtle suddenly burst into tears. Slash and Fishface exchanged a look. Neither were experienced with children, neither knew what to do.

"Hey, hey, hey." Xever soothed. He extended his arms to he held himself up at the turtle's height. It was not at all graceful, it was a strange sight really but Xever didn't really care at the moment. "You're alright now."

Slash leaned over the two of them and put a hand on the turtle's shoulder. "Now can you tell us how a young turtle such as yourself ended up in the Andes?"

All he got for an answer was a series of wails, sobs, and sniffles that may or may not have been words.

"Okay, let's start simple." Slash stated. "What's your name?"

"R-Raphael." the turtle sobbed. "M-my brothers call me Raph."

"Okay, Raph, where'd you come from?" Slash asked softly.

"The sewer." Raph said.

"The sewer?" Fishface questioned. Raph nodded. "Where?"

"I don't know!" Raph wailed.

"How did you get here?" Slash asked.

Raph sniffed and more tears rolled down his face. Shifting his weight onto one arm, Fishface reached over to wipe them away. Raph's crying was getting messy.

"The bad man attacked Master Splinter." Raph sniffled. "The mean people grabbed me an' Leo an' Donnie an' Mikey."

"Who are they?" Slash asked. Xever dropped back down onto his belly. His arms were tired from holding himself up. "Leo, Donnie, and Mikey?"

"M-my brothers." Raph cried.

"And who's Master Splinter?"

"My d-dad."

"What happened to them?"

Raph started bawling again. "I don't know!"

Slash patted Raph on the shell again and Xever put a hand on his leg. He noticed a long cut on it. He guessed the people in the plane weren't the kindest kidnappers.

"Hang in there kiddo." Xever said as Raph cried. "Slash and I will take good care of you until your family comes."

"We will?" Slash asked quietly.

"We can't just leave him!" Xever hissed under his breath. "Besides, he's young, he'll forget about them."

"How old are you Raph?" Slash asked a bit louder so he could hear.

"Five." Raph answered.

"I heard once that memories don't start forming until you're five." Fishface said quietly to Slash. "I think we're good."

"You do a lot of things because you heard it once." Slash sighed.

"That's why I keep you around." Xever smirked then turned his attention back to Raph. "Slash and I will look out for you."

"What if the bad man comes back?" Raph asked quietly.

"We'll protect you from the bad man." Fishface said. "See? Look how big Slash is! He can beat anyone! And see these big teeth? No one can get out of my bite."

Raph laughed a bit. Slash scooped him up into his arms. "Come on. I'll take you to where I live. You must be tired."

Raph nodded. "What about Fishface?"

"I can't go on land." Fishface told him. "I don't have legs. See?"

Raph nodded and his eyes began to droop in exhaustion. Slash nodded a goodbye to Fishface and began heading more inland towards the mountains.

"Fishface." Slash chuckled quietly.

"Don't call me that!" Fishface yelled.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Raph is five. He's allowed to cry.

Casey won't join the South America group until later. Before Raph showed up, there wasn't really a group. Fishface and Slash jut did their own things and occasionally talked to each other. They really only became a family when Raph showed up.

Can you guys think of any other plot holes in Four Corners of the Earth? Remember, none of the characters on the groups were ever a part of the Foot so everything happened differently.


	3. Treetops

As a child, Leonardo had a fear of heights. His brother Raphael helped him conquer it but in this world the two were separated before that could happen. In the forests of Asia, how did Leo deal with his fear?

* * *

8 Years Ago

Asia

"Wake up." Tigerclaw snarled. A seven year old mutant turtle and an eight year old human girl immediately snapped awake and were on their feet. Behind them, a massive mutant rhinoceros was still in deep sleep and snoring loudly.

Leo turned around and shook him. "Come on, Rocksteady, wake up! It's time for training!"

"Let him sleep." Tigerclaw told him. "Today's morning training session is just for you two."

"What are we doing?" Karai asked.

"It's about time you two learn how to climb trees." Tigerclaw smiled. "We do live in a forest after all."

"Alright!" Karai said excitedly. Leo didn't say anything but he looked significantly less enthused than Karai. Tigerclaw took note of that but didn't say anything.

"Come." Tigerclaw instructed. "I know of a tree that should be perfect for our purposes."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them stood at the base of the tree. Karai wore an excited grin but Leo looked a bit nervous.

Tigerclaw stood closest to the three. He patted its trunk with a paw. "See this tree? It's thicker than the others in this forest. And the bark doesn't pull easily. Perfect for climbing, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah!" Karai was bouncing a bit. Leo nodded but didn't look up at him.

"Come here." Tigerclaw beckoned. He got down on his knees so he was at their level. "You two don't have claws like me so its even more important that you get a good grip when you are in a tree or you'll fall."

Leo nodded weakly while Karai looked like she was brushing him off. "Can we climb yet?"

"One more lesson then you can." Tigerclaw promised. "Someday, you two will be big enough just to leap into a tree and strong enough to support yourself on any branch but until then, it's important to find a good route up to where you want to be."

"Like this one?" Karai asked as she pointed to the tree. "Right here the tree is kinda leaned over, and there's a knot right here then there I can grab that and I could reach for that big branch there while still holding on to the the tree."

"Yes, like that." Tigerclaw purred in pride. "You have a good eye for this, Karai."

Karai grinned. "Can I try it now?"

Tigerclaw nodded and Karai rushed up to the tree. Cautiously, she put her foot on the trunk and pushed off to put her other foot on. Almost immediately, she slid down. She glanced over at Tigerclaw with a look of disappointment.

"Don't give up yet!" he encouraged. "Try again. Put a bit more strength into it."

"Maybe go a bit slower." Leo offered. He looked at Tigerclaw for confirmation. He nodded. Leo gave a small smile.

Karai turned back to the tree. She dug her toe into the trunk and pushed off again. She held onto it with her arms and placed her other foot on the tree. She paused for a second then glanced back at Leo and Tigerclaw. "Hey, I did it!"

"Stay focused." Tigerclaw reminded. "You still have a ways to go."

Karai nodded and let go with one arm. Leo gave a small gasp and tensed until she replaced it on the tree. Karai did the same with her other hand then her feet. She did it again, this time a bit faster. She kept going faster and faster until she was sitting on the lowest branch.

"Look Leo! I did it!" she beamed. She waved down to him. Leo looked unsteady despite being the one on the ground but he smiled right back at her.

"Great job Karai!" Leo called.

"Very good, Karai." Tigerclaw told her. His voice was neutral but the look in his eyes showed that he was holding back a smile and he was close to failing at it. "Now come on back down."

"Should I climb down or can I just drop?" she asked.

Tigerclaw looked thoughtful for a moment. "You can drop. I'll catch you."

Karai smiled and pushed off of the branch. Leo squeezed his eyes shut until he heard the soft sound of her landing in Tigerclaw's powerful arms. Tigerclaw looked happy as he set her down. "Your turn Leo."

Leo hesiantly approached the tree.

"Do you remember everything I told Karai, Leonardo?" Tigerclaw asked. Leo nodded. "Proceed."

Leo swallowed and reached to place his hands on the tree like Karai did. He was soon holding on just like she was. He shut his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply before moving again.

Hand, hand, foot, foot. Up.

Hand, hand, foot, foot. Up.

Hand, hand, foot, foot. Up.

Soon, he saw a branch out of the corner of his eye.

"Way to go, Leo!" Karai cheered. "You're doing it!"

Leo risked a glance over his shoulder and saw Tigerclaw and Karai looking up at him. His hands suddenly felt incredibly sweaty and he suddenly felt like there was nothing under his shell. The ground felt a thousand feet away even though the tree couldn't have been more than ten feet tall.

"Leo?" Karai questioned when she saw he'd stopped.

"Leonardo?" Tigerclaw frowned in concern. Leo gave no response. He turned back to Karai. "Go back to Rocksteady. I'm sure he could use some help gathering for today's meal."

"But what about Leo?" she asked.

"He's fine." Tigerclaw lied. He hated lying, especially to his young companions but sometimes it was necessary. "He's… eh, trying to find the best way to grab that branch without losing his balance."

"Oh, okay." Karai said and took off into the forest.

Tigerclaw turned his attention back to the young turtle stuck frozen to the tree. Tigerclaw unsheathed his claws and pressed them into the tree and he began to climb.

He was able to make it to Leo's level much faster than even Karai. They were young and small, he was older and much much bigger and made of pure muscle. Tigerclaw sheathed one paw and reached out and grabbed Leo by the top of the shell. Tigerclaw noticed that it was damp with sweat.

Leo's breathing became rapid and he clung to the tree, refusing to let go. Tigerclaw removed his other hand from the tree so that he was supported only by his legs and grabbed Leo with both hands. He pulled him close to his chest and dropped gently down to the ground.

Once on the ground, Tigerclaw lowered to a crouch still holding Leo and sat down. After a few minutes, Leo's breathing calmed and he relaxed.

"Are you alright, Leonardo?" Tigerclaw asked calmly. He pressed his paw comfortingly against Leo's back. Due to their size difference, Tigerclaw's paw covered most of Leo's shell.

"Yeah." Leo nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Tigerclaw asked.

"Because I messed up." Leo answered. "Karai could-"

"Do not compare yourself to your sister." Tigerclaw told him. "Now tell me what happened?"

"I don't know." Leo mumbled. "It was like I just froze up when I looked down."

"Hmm." Tigerclaw nodded thoughtfully. "Has this ever happened before? Be honest."

Leo was quiet for a moment. "I think so."

"When?"

"Back at the lair we'd…" Leo trailed off. Tigerclaw didn't press. None of them talked about their pasts before the forest. Except for Rocksteady. He loved talking about his life in Russia.

"Do you know why this happened?" Tigerclaw asked. Leo shook his head. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Yeah." Leo said.

"I think you're afraid of heights." Tigerclaw told him.

"What? I'm not afraid of anything!" Leo denied.

"Poor choice of words." Tigerclaw laughed at how fast Leo's expression changed. One second he was a nervous and scared child, the next he was an angry warrior with wounded pride. "I believe the correct word is acrophobia."

"Acrophobia?" Leo sounded out the word.

"It is the fear of heights."

"I told you, I'm not afraid of anything."

"I know that." Tigerclaw smiled. "You are not afraid of heights. You have a phobia."

"What's that mean?" Leo asked.

"It means that…" Tigerclaw racked his brain for a good explanation. Try as he might, he wasn't good with children. Rocksteady was better at fulfilling the role of a parent that these children needed but that didn't stop Tigerclaw from trying. It was hard to explain these things to children in a way they could understand and accept. "It means that heights are your enemy. If you challenge it, it uses its power to take hold of you and freeze you like it did."

"How do I get it to stop?" Leo asked.

"Be patient. I'm getting there." Tigerclaw told him. "All young warriors must face a phobia before they can be great."

"Even you?"

"Especially me."

"What was your phobia?"

"Water. It called aquaphobia."

"Really?" Leo asked in surprise. "But water is so awesome!"

"To you. Remember, everyone is different. You're a turtle, I'm a cat." Tigerclaw told him. "Water loves turtles but trees hate them. Trees love cats but water hates my kind."

"So water was your enemy?" Leo asked. Tigerclaw nodded. "Did you freeze up and sweat and have a hard time breathing?"

Tigerclaw nodded.

"But I've seen you swim!" Leo said. "How did you make the water like you?"

"It took time." Tigerclaw said. "I had to learn to get used to the water and the water had to learn to get used to me. We came to a truce."

"If you came to a truce, then the phobia didn't go away." Leo said. "You said warriors had to face their phobia. It doesn't sound like you did that."

"Again, be patient. I'm getting to that." Tigerclaw reminded him. "It was hard to make a truce. Water is dangerous, just like heights. When you freeze in water, you fall and you can drown. If you freeze in the trees, you can fall and get hurt. The truce stopped me from freezing but my phobia still existed. I avoided water unless I had to be around it."

"You love water though." Leo said remembering the first time he, Tigerclaw, Karai, and Rocksteady had gone swimming. They'd found a decently sized lake in a clearing. Turned out that humans used that lake so they were chased off and they never went back but they still found rivers big enough to swim in occasionally.

"I do now." Tigerclaw nodded. "But that was after water learned its lesson. When I was just a cub, not much older than you, the water betrayed me and broke our truce."

"Did it use its power and grab you again?" Leo asked.

Tigerclaw shook his head. "No. Water used its great strength and tried to take my sister from me."

Leo fell silent. He didn't know Tigerclaw had a sister. He wanted to hear about her.

"She was very fast." Tigerclaw told him. "So fast that she could run across the surface of water."

Leo looked amazed. That was impressive.

"She knew that the water was my enemy so she liked to spend time with it to show me there was no reason for our hatred." Tigerclaw explained. "So she ran across the water. The water saw she wasn't paying attention so it sent a log towards her and she tripped then it used its strength to grab her and pull her down."

Leo looked horrified. Tigerclaw began to question if this was the best way to explain it to him but he figured it was too late to change his mind.

"The water was very strong and my sister was not strong enough to fight it." Tigerclaw said. "Her speed was useless in the water. I knew my strength was the only thing that could save her. I forgot about my phobia and I dove in after her."

"Did you save her?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Tigerclaw smiled. "And after seeing my strength, the water admitted defeat and my fear- phobia- went away."

"So you don't freeze anymore?" Leo asked.

"No." Tigerclaw said.

"So to make my phobia go away, I have to make a truce with the trees and then I have to show that I'm strong enough?"

"Yes." Tigerclaw said.

"But in your story water only realized how strong you were after you saved your sister." Leo said. "Does that mean I'll only show my strength if Karai falls out of a tree? 'Cuz I don't want that to happen…"

Tigerclaw's eyes widened slightly and mentally slapped himself. "No, no, no. There are other ways that you can show the trees how strong you are."

"The trees aren't my phobia." Leo reminded.

"True. But they are a weapon of your enemy." Tigerclaw told him. "When you face an enemy, you are facing both him and his weapon."

Leo nodded. "So how will I face my enemy? Height isn't something I can fight."

"Of course it is." Tigerclaw told him. "But you must fight it in a different way than you know."

"How will I know how to fight height if fighting is different?"

"I will help you." Tigerclaw said. "How would you like to do some special training?"

For the first time that day, Leo smiled up at him.

* * *

5 Years Later

"How are you so good at climbing?" Karai complained. Her voice was laced with the tone of an annoyed teenager. "The first time you climbed a tree, you were slower than Rocksteady in the mud. And you didn't even make it to the lowest branch!"

"Are you saying turtles are supposed to be slow?" Leo grinned down at her. He held onto a branch a couple dozen feet above her. The two were climbing one of the tallest trees in the forest. The group was moving again. Rocksteady had told the two to climb up this tree to try and spot out a clearing. "'Cuz that's a racist stereotype."

"Animal species are not a race so it can't be racist." Karai said. "And I've never met a turtle besides you, how would I know if they were slow or not?"

"Good point." Leo said. He reached a particularly sturdy branch and stopped there to wait for Karai.

"Will you stop watching me?" Karai hissed as she climbed.

"I dunno, this is a nice view." Leo said in a teasing voice. He smiled down at her. Karai glared and he looked away. "Why are you so self conscious all of a sudden?"

"Shut up." Karai grumbled and made her way to Leo's branch. She sat down next to him and the two gazed out at the view of the forest. For miles and miles, they could only see the leafy tops of trees.

Karai leaned against Leo. Leo looked down at her then back out at the view.

"You ever think about how far a drop it is from here?" Karai asked suddenly.

"All the time." Leo answered.

"Then what keeps you climbing?" Karai asked.

"If I fall, I know you'll catch me." Leo smiled.

"That's corny." she smiled back.

"I know." Leo said. "But also I can do this."

Before Karai could do anything, Leo got to his feet and leaped off the branch.

"Leo!" Karai screamed as she watched Leo drop.

Leo suddenly grabbed a branch. Using his momentum, he swung around it a few times before releasing and he flew upwards. He whizzed past Karai and landed safely on the branch above her. He grinned cheekily at her.

"Don't do that!" she yelled at him. Leo bust out laughing.

"You should've seen your face!" Leo cracked. He remembered the first time he did that. Tigerclaw had been horrified and called off their secret training for weeks.

"I don't like teenage Leo." Karai crossed her arms and looked away.

Leo dropped down a branch and sat back next to her. He put an arm around her. "Love you too, sis."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Not a plot hole but something I wanted to write nonetheless.

I'm not planning on putting any romance or relationship-y in this but I'm thinking about it. This prequel is kind of just a time filler/ something I write to take a break but the sequel to Four Corners of the Earth will be more structured (when I write it, you guys still have to wait). I don't like reading or writing romance but there may be some minor stuff off to the side. Tell me what you think. If it works, I may or may not include it of I decide to have some of the characters be in relationships. The story is not at all going to focus on them, they may just be mentioned so don't get your hopes up.

Thanks to Shiny Pebbles of Doom. The next chapter(s) will be what you asked about in your review. I was really putting off the Antarctica thing but I thought about it a lot after reading your review and I decided how to do it. I promise it'll be good.

If you guys want to see anything sooner rather than later, please ask for it. I have a lot of stuff already planned (and written) but requests will just change how soon I write and/ or upload it.


	4. Collected Part 1

Seriously, how did a turtle end up in Antarctica?

* * *

10 Years Ago

Foot HQ

"Donnie!" Mikey screamed as a foot ninja lifted up his cage and carried him off.

"Mikey!" Donnie yelled after him. He grabbed the bars of his own cage in anxious fear. Several Foot Ninja got to their feet and escorted Mikey and his holder out of the room, leaving Donnie alone.

Well, not totally alone. The last team of Foot Ninja remained.

"What should we do with this one?" one of the ninja asked another ninja who appeared to be leader of this group.

That ninja didn't respond.

"I heard one of the others saying something about dropping the biggest one out of a plane." one of the other ninjas said. "That could be fun."

"That's uncreative." another ninja said. He wasn't fat but he was larger than the others. "Its a turtle. A big one too. We could probably get a pretty good amount of turtle soup out of it."

Donnie gasped and retreated a bit into his shell. Were they really going to eat him?

"Man, that's nasty." a ninja with an accent different from the others said. "It's a friggin' mutant. Who know what kinda chemicals 'n what not are in that thing. You really want to eat that?"

The large ninja gagged.

"Just let me go." Donnie begged.

"Shut it, animal." the ninja closest to Donnie's cage hissed. He elbowed the cage making it jostle. "I say we just kill it now, get it over with."

"You all make good points." the lead ninja finally spoke. "But it would be a waste just to dispose of this creature."

"What are you suggesting?" the accented ninja asked.

"We sell it." the leader said. "Split the profits?"

The other ninja looked around at each other and nodded.

"Where would we sell it?" the ninja who had suggested dropping Donnie asked. Donnie decided that one was his least favorite, other than the one who wanted to eat him. This guy was mean. A big meanie head. "A pet shop would ask too many questions."

"The Foot Clan has been funded by the Bradford family in the past." the leader started.

"Those rich stuck ups?" the accented ninja questioned. "You think they'd by it?"

"No." the leader said. "But it is likely that they know of someone who participates in illegal exotic auctions."

* * *

A few weeks later, Donnie was still in the cage. He had not been let out. His back was cramped from being hunched over. This cage was far too small. He was hungry and thirsty and he smelled horrible. They didn't even let him out to relieve himself. He just had to sit in it. It was really gross and that was saying something if it came from someone who lived in a sewer is whole life.

The only time he'd been let out was a couple hours ago but it wasn't to stretch or eat. One of the ninja had put a muzzle on him so he couldn't speak and another ninja had given his cage a quick scrub. Then, he was thrown back in and another ninja draped a black piece of cloth over him so he couldn't see out through the bars.

Judging by the sounds and movement, the ninjas had taken him to the place of the auction. It was all they had really been talking about ever since they decided they would sell him so Donnie didn't hear anything about his brothers which only added to his anxiety.

Someone grabbed his cage and suddenly he was being carried.

"You have the merchandise?" a gruff voice asked. The cover was briefly lifted and Donnie was able to see a large man peer in at him. "Woah. That one's gotta be worth some big bucks. You're free to enter."

The cloth was dropped again and the group of ninjas continued their way in. After a few more conversations, the cage was set down where Donnie assumed the animals were kept. He heard various sounds of animals he'd never thought he'd see. Or hear, rather since he still couldn't see.

He suddenly heard a loud applause. He assumed the auction was starting.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen." a booming voice greeted. "Welcome to Underground Exotics! We've got some real rarities tonight, folks! Before we start, I'd like to give a rather special guest a warm welcome! Everyone, be sure to say hello to Mr. F. All of you probably know him better as the Collector."

A series of cheers were heard. Donnie gulped. If he had to guess, the Collector was probably going to be the one to by him. He sounded like a big shot and Donnie knew better than anyone how rare mutants were. Only someone with too much money on their hands could afford to outbid everyone else.

"Let's try to get through the little guys first." the auctioneer said. "We've got a number of big boys tonight. Fifteen total animals today, folks!"

Another auctioneer took over. "Animal number one: the Indian Gharial! Starting with one grand, do I hear a one grand?"

Donnie was shocked that an Indian Gharial was considered a 'little guy'. But judging by the sounds of the other animals around him, he was sure to have many more surprises in store for him.

The croc was sold pretty quickly. "Animal two: the Orangutan!"

Again, Donnie was shocked at what was considered a 'little guy'. Turns out that a giant otter, a black mamba, a spider monkey, several types of sharks and even a few turtles were considered the 'little guys'. Those past pretty quickly and the auctioneer was soon onto what he called the 'big boys'.

"Right here we got a real pretty one. I doubt you'll ever see one ever again." the auctioneer said. "Number twelve: the Amur Tiger!"

A huge roar echoed throughout the building that made Donnie shudder in his shell but his scientific brain overpowered his child like fears. Donnie had read about the Amur Tiger. Those things were rare! He really wished he could see it but he couldn't get his hand through the bar of the cage to lift the cloth for a peak.

"Sold!" the auctioneer shouted. Donnie didn't hear how much it was sold for due to his distraction. He heard the tiger's cage being wheeled away and another cage being taken out to the display. "Next up, number thirteen: the Saola!"

The reaction to this animal wasn't as enthused as any of the other animals. The crowd sounded pretty disappointed. The auctioneer tried explaining how rare this animals was but it ended up being booed off of of the stage. None of these rich people cared how rare it was, they wanted something they could show off.

"Number fourteen: the Sumatran Rhinoceros!" the auctioneer said. Donnie couldn't hear the auction at all over all the noise. It seemed people actually did care about the animal's rarity.

Donnie felt his cage being moved. Donnie desperately gripped at the muzzle covering his face so maybe he could cry out for help but the evil thing was attached too tight.

"Last creature tonight folks! An animal so rare that it has never been seen in public before! So rare, no zoologist has ever even heard of it!" the auctioneer announced. The room was filled with shocked murmurs as the buyers exchanged shocked commentary. "I give you number fifteen: the humanoid turtle!"

The cover was whipped of his cage and Donnie was nearly blinded by all the lights. A large man walked up to the cage and opened it. Donnie crawled back away from him as a hand reached in. It clasped around his arm and he was harshly pulled out. He was shoved to the center of the stage right into the view off all of the humans.

Donnie was already crying by now. He was standing at the center of a stage with all eyes on him and no way to call out for help. The audience sat in the shadows but several flashes of cameras shot out from them.

The man stepped in front of Donnie. Donnie tried to hide in his shell but found the muzzle prevented him from pulling his head into his shell and he couldn't balance properly with his limbs in so he was forced to face everything.

"No photography please." the auctioneer said. The sounds of cameras died away. "Please hand over any and all cameras, phones and photography devices to the nearest bouncer or they will be taken. I assure you, no harm will come to them, they will just delete images of this specific specimen as per request of its sellers."

Donnie felt rage building in his chest at being called a specimen. Couldn't they see he was a person too? Donnie tried to make a break for it but the man grabbed him again and shoved him back to the center of the stage.

Donnie didn't want to look at the buyers but something stopped him from looking away. Most of these humans were wearing some pretty fancy dresses and tuxedos. The woman were all decked out pretty heavily in nice jewelry and the men had some fancy looking things that Donnie hadn't seen before.

Donnie's gaze fell on one particular human. Rather than sitting in rows, he was sitting off on his own with several bodyguards surrounding him. He was a huge man, dressed nicely too but what caught Donnie's eye was his chair. It was massive, it had to be to seat him. It was a simple design of pure oak wood but it decorated with diamond, jade, lapis lazuli, ruby and just about every other type of jewel that Donnie could think of.

For all he knew, the chair could've been fake but somehow he doubted that. He made eye contact with the man seated on it. He knew that man was going to be the one to buy him. The Collector.

"Let's start at… ten million." the auctioneer said. Donnie glanced back in surprise. That was a lot of money. He knew he'd be worth a lot but the other turtles had only sold for a few thousand. But then again, he was a mutant. He was one of a kind. Actually, one of four. More tears ran down his face as he thought about his brothers.

Almost all of the buyers held up their signs. The auctioneer nodded to one of them. "Do I hear fifteen? Do I hear fifteen million?"

Again, nearly every sign went up. The auctioneer grinned. "Do I hear twenty? Anyone for twenty million?"

Donnie blocked out all of the other buyers and focused on the man in the chair.

"Twenty five, do I hear a twenty five million?"

The man held a sign in his right hand.

"Thirty? Anyone for thirty million?"

The Collector did not move. An uneasy feeling flowed through Donnie. As much as he feared being bought by the Collector, he knew if he was bought by anyone else, he'd be kept on display in a glass cage in some rich person's mansion and boasted about to other rich people who owned mansions. At least if this guy bought him, there would be more in store for him. Maybe he wouldn't feel like some lowly animal. But the man wasn't moving.

"Forty, do I hear a forty million?"

The bidding was starting to slow.

"Fifty." a voice rang loud and clear though the building. Donnie turned to the voice. On the opposite corner than the collector, a French looking man stood looking confident.

"Fifty?" the auctioneer questions. "Any challengers? Fifty, going once? Going twice?"

"Fifty five." the Collector finally spoke up.

"Sixty." the French Man said.

"Seventy five." the Collector challenged.

"Uhh…" the French Man looked nervous. Donnie was even more surprised than he'd been all night. They were only getting nervous now? How did these people have this kind of money? And why were they spending it on him? "Eighty?"

"One hundred." the Collector said boldly. It made the room go dead silent.

"One hundred. Going once, going twice." the auctioneer said. "Sold! Mr. F., you are now the proud owner of this humanoid turtle!"

Donnie fell to his knees. The stress of being treated and sold like an animal was finally catching up with him. Two humans walked up to him and grabbed him. Donnie struggled a bit but he wasn't strong enough to free himself from their grip.

Donnie screamed against the muzzle but any of the sound that made it through it came out distorted. The two humans ignored him and shoved him back into his cage.

The buyers began to file out. A few remained to stare at him.

"What a strange creature." a woman commented to her husband.

"Yes, it looks almost human." the man nodded. "Look, it's even crying. Like a child."

"It is sort of cute in its own way." the woman said. "Too bad we couldn't get it but I suppose we wouldn't no what to do with it any better than that Collector man."

Rage burned in Donnie's chest. These humans could see that he was a person! They saw that he was crying! They saw his fear! They saw that he was just a kid! And they just watched and bid. How could anyone be so cruel? More than ever, Donnie understood why Splinter told them humans were bad and why they should avoid them.

The couple walked away. A few more humans made similar comments. The French Man stared at him a bit then shook the Collector's hand and exchanged a few words as he made his way over.

Soon, the huge man towered over the caged Donnie. Donnie shuddered a bit. Up close, he looked much bigger. He looked strong, probably well over 6 feet and 200 pounds of pure skin, muscle, and bone.

"Take it to the van." the Collector instructed. The two humans who'd grabbed him nodded and picked up his cage and carried it outside.

Donnie hadn't seen the sky in weeks. Actually, he'd only seen the sky a few times. That was the only positive thing he had gained from being kidnapped. He'd been able to go topside. But he'd trade anything to be back down in the sewers with his brothers and sensei. Looking up at the night sky, Donnie felt immensely lonely. Even the stars had friends. They weren't alone.

Looking down from the sky, Donnie saw a large truck. One of the humans opened up the back doors and he was brought inside and his cage was strapped down.

None of the humans said anything. Within a few minutes, they were both out of the truck and the twin doors were slammed shut leaving Donnie all alone once more.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Again, I was really putting this off. The Antarctica stuff will happen shortly.

I honestly have no idea about how pricing works at auctions. The closest thing I've seen to this was an auction for farm animals at a fair. I briefly researched this. I read some articles about how the dinosaur pricings in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom were way off. Taking some of the points they had into account and the fact that at this point in time (10 years before the turtles were reunited and 10 years before the first episode of the TV show if we were in that universe) no one knew mutants or anything crazy existed, I figured it was somewhat reasonable.

When I originally wrote Four Corners of the Earth, I hadn't really planned on righting this so in my head, the Foot just dropped all the turtles out of planes at random locations like they did for Raph. Then I realized that was stupid, I wouldn't fly all the way to Antarctica just to drop a turtle out of a plane so I had to think of something better. I had to do the same for Leo and Mikey. They'll have pretty good stories too. Eventually. Right now we just have to wonder how in the world Donnie goes from being an illegal pet in New York to a research assistant in Antarctica.


	5. Collected Part 2

10 Years Ago

1 Hour After the Auction

The ride in the truck was a long one. Donnie had worried about running out of oxygen for a while before he realized how big this truck really was. It was some sort of transport vehicle. Like the kind that drives in its own special lane on those random roads in the middle of no where. It took awhile for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light after being in that bright auction room but within a few minutes, the young turtle was able to see his surroundings.

It seemed that the Collector lived up to his name. The truck was filled with valuables. It looked like he'd just gone on a large collecting session before he went to the auction where Donnie was sold. Just from what he could see, the contents of the truck was mostly made up of paintings and statues. There were some weapons too. There were some framed records too. Donnie was sure that they had to be signed.

There had to be a small fortune just in this truck. Forget small, there was more value in here than Donnie could imagine. He himself had just been sold for one hundred million dollars so everything else was bound to be pretty expensive.

Donnie was never one to think about that sort of thing but Mikey had once asked how much they were worth. Splinter had told him that he and his brothers were worth everything to him. Mikey had asked what that meant. Splinter had told him not to think about that but Mikey was persistent. Splinter eventually gave in. He didn't list possessions. His name, his memories, his spirit, his life, that's what he had told him. Mikey had fallen silent after that.

Donnie knew Splinter had said that out of love, like any parent would. For the fun of it, Donnie had once tried to calculate their actual economic value but there were too many factors to take into account and too many things to compare to that he gave up. He didn't actually want to know. Knowing that his father loved him was more than enough.

Donnie felt overwhelming sorrow. He'd been separated from his family a few weeks ago and he missed them more than he could imagine. He even missed Mikey's annoying jokes, Raph's tantrums, Leo's mother henning and Splinter's scoldings. He missed Spinter and his brothers dearly and would do anything to be with them again.

A few tears ran down Donnie's face but not many. He'd cried a lot these past few weeks for many reasons and he found it was best not to waste his body's water. He wasn't hydrated very often.

Donnie suddenly heard a loud hiss. He jumped in surprise. He hadn't realized there was anything living else back here. Donnie tried to call out but his mouth was still restricted by the muzzle that the Foot Ninja had put on him. All that came out where a few muffled cries.

But that did the trick. A loud slam could be heard. Donnie looked to the opposite end of the truck. Deeper in was a large shape covered by a cloth. Donnie guessed that under the cloth was another cage like his. Well, not exactly like his. Whatever it was sounded pretty big. The cage was probably much stronger too.

Donnie spent the next several hours trying to guess what was in the cage based off of the hiss so he had something to do other than sit there in fear of what the Collector would do to him.

* * *

The truck drove for a pretty long time. In that time, Donnie guessed that the animal in the cage was probably some kind of crocodile or alligator. Or maybe even an allidile. Probably an albino one, those were expensive. Or possibly another mutant but that was incredibly unlikely.

After figuring that out, Donnie spent the next several hours trying to guess the prices of everything else in the truck. It wasn't his area of expertise, he'd never bought anything before but it was just math really.

He was in the middle of trying to calculate the price of a particularly large painting when the truck jostled hard. The gator hissed loudly and the truck screeched and it came to a stop. Donnie looked to the door and sure enough, the two drivers were opening up. Behind them stood the Collector.

"Get the paintings and statues to storage, I'll look over them later." the Collector ordered. "Frame the records and mount them. Get the jewelry and coins to the deposit. Anything else set aside."

"What about the living ones sir?" one of the drivers asked.

"Get the allidile to the pit." the Collector ordered. A small amount of satisfaction spread through Donnie knowing that he'd guessed right but he also was filled with fear of this pit place. He really hoped he wasn't going there.

The Collector stared into the truck and looked over Donnie. Donnie shied away a bit at his gaze but didn't look away. He stared right back at him.

"Put this one in a temporary habitat. Alone." the Collector said. "Tell the zoologists to set up a more permanent one under the glass hall."

A driver nodded and grabbed the cage. Donnie was carried outside and suddenly he wasn't so surprised that he was sold for a hundred million dollars. This man was filthy rich.

They were on an isolated hill. A long driveway stretched out behind them. In the distance, a city could be seen but before them stood a massive house. Mansion would be a better word. It was beautiful. Tall with windows and ivy growing up the side. It had several balconies too. Donnie didn't know anything about houses but even the stuff the roof was made of looked fancy and expensive.

As the driver carried him closer to the house, Donnie saw a group of people go into the truck and they began moving the other cage out. Donnie got a glimpse of white as he was carried into the house. He gave a slight smile knowing that he was right.

Donnie looked around as he was carried into the house. Almost immediately, he saw the skeleton of some sort of animal, fur rugs that still had heads on, and even a few stuffed animals. There was plenty of other stuff but Donnie didn't take any notice of it. He shivered as he got a shiver of fear.

The building was pretty big. Donnie lost all sense of direction as he driver carried him through all sorts of hallways and twists and turns. Eventually, they made it to dead end and stopped.

The room was huge like all the others. Half of the room was floored with sand with various plants scattered about while the other half just looked like any other room. A glass fence separated the two halves. The glass wall didn't go all the way up to the ceiling, it probably only went to the hip of a human but it would be far over Donnie's head if he was standing on the ground.

Two more humans stood in this room. A man and a woman. They both wore lab coats. Donnie assumed they were the zoologists. They appeared to be inspecting the room. They didn't turn at the sound of them entering the room.

"The boss says to put this in this habitat temporarily." the driver spoke. "He says you two have to prepare a permanent one under the hall with the glass floor."

"What sort of creature does the Collector find so amazing that he'd want to do that?" the female zoologist asked not turning around.

"One of a kind." the driver said and set Donnie's cage down. The two zoologists turned around and their expressions went from bored to utterly shocked as they gaped at him. Donnie cocked his head as he looked up at them. He gave a small wave.

The male zoologist spluttered, not able to find words.

"It- it…. This is…!" the female zoologist said. "I've never seen anything like this! And it seems to pick up on human behaviors! I- we- we must study this creature!"

"Your job is to do what the Collector tells you to." the driver told her. "Not make scientific discoveries or whatever it is your type does. Get it in the habitat and prepare the other one like the boss said."

The driver dipped his head and walked out of the room leaving Donnie with the two zoologists. This was the most comfortable Donnie had been in a while. He was untrusting of humans, he'd been raised that way, but he liked being with other people who appreciated science like he did. He really didn't know if they'd turn out to be obsessive creeps and try and dissect him or something like he'd seen on TV but right now, he was feeling pretty good.

The zoologists seemed pretty nice. The male bent down and picked up his cage while the female opened up the door to the habitat.

"I don't care what that idiot says." the female told the male. "I've just got to observe this creature. It's almost human even though its a turtle."

The male nodded. "Yeah. Keeping it for display is such a waste."

The male set the cage down on the sand flooring. He got onto his knees and tried to open the door of Donnie's small cage but it was locked. Donnie looked crestfallen. The male smiled at him. "Don't worry little guy. We'll get this cage of your's open and hopefully we'll get that muzzle off of you too."

Donnie brightened at that. He pawed at the muzzle a bit. He couldn't wait to get it off.

"Here, let me." the female said. The male moved out of the way and the she replaced him. She pulled something out of her pocket. A hair pin. She snapped it and proceeded to pick the lock.

Within a few seconds, the lock fell open. Donnie grinned beneath his muzzle. He pushed the door open and scrambled out. The female moved out of the way out of caution but Donnie ignored her. He was free! Sort of. He at least had enough room to move.

Donnie stood on two legs and stretched his arms upward trying to get all the cramps out of his back and legs. There wasn't even enough room in that cage for him to sit up completely and he'd been in there for weeks. Nothing ever felt so good.

After standing like that for a few seconds and doing some shoulder rolls, Donnie began to do the warm up stretches that Master Splinter had taught him back when he started teaching Donnie and his brothers ninjitsu.

The two zoologists gasped. Each of them pulled out a notebook and began scribbling notes down. For a while, Donnie just ignored them but after a while he realized they were studying him.

Donnie stopped his stretches and walked up to them. They backed away a bit but their curiosity kept them from getting too far. Donnie grabbed the muzzle attached to his face and pulled at it then looked up at them and hoped that they would get the message.

"Oh, of course." the male said. He got down on his knees again. Donnie turned around so that he'd have access to the clasp. The female furiously scribbled in the notebook. Donnie flinched at the feeling of human skin against his own as the zoologist tried to remove the muzzle but he didn't pull away. He really wanted it off.

Eventually the zoologist pulled away with the muzzle still on Donnie's face. Donnie turned around again to look up at him. The man looked sorry.

"I'm sorry, little guy." the man told him apologetically. "It seems to be an electronic lock. It may take a while to find the right interface and password."

Donnie slumped a bit in disappointment. He was hungry. And thirsty. And his face was sore. And he really wanted to talk.

The man put out a hand then paused hesitantly before patting his head. Donnie didn't move. The man got back to his feet and turned to the woman.

"Stay here with the turtle." he told her. "I'll go find the Collector and ask if he knows anything about the lock."

The woman nodded. "Try and hurry. It can't be healthy for it to have that thing on its face for so long."

Donnie glared at her. He didn't like being called 'it' but he was glad she was concerned for his well being. The man nodded and turned away leaving Donnie with the woman.

Donnie stared up at her. Out of the two of them, Donnie liked the man better than the woman but out of all of the humans he'd met so far, he definitely liked her way more than all of the others.

Donnie realized that she wasn't going to do anything. She wanted to observe him. Donnie turned away feeling a bit uncomfortable at being observed. He didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted to prove that he wasn't an animal but another part of him that he knew was his animal instincts told him that that wasn't the best idea.

Instead, he resumed stretching. It was something she'd already seen, no harm in that. She began writing in her notebook again.

* * *

Donnie sat on the floor of his temporary habitat. The male zoologist was kneeled over him again and the woman stood off to the side. On the other side of the glass barrier that bordered the habitat, the Collector stood with the driver at his side.

The male zoologist held a card in his hand. He pressed it against the back of the band that secured the muzzle to Donnie's face. A few lights flashed followed by a fews beeps and the clasp opened and Donnie was free.

Donnie's face lit up as the muzzle fell away. He gave a gap toothed smile to the man who'd freed him. The man looked a bit surprised but he smiled back.

"Thanks." Donnie said. "I'm Donnie. Who are you?"

The man reeled back in shock and got to his feet. All four humans looked at him with wide eyes. Donnie cocked his head in confusion and glanced between all of them. Did he say something wrong?

"It-it-it..." the woman spluttered.

"It speaks!" the driver squeaked. The Collector didn't say anything but he looked equally as shocked as the rest.

Donnie realized his error. They thought he was an animal. Animals didn't speak. He probably could've pretended to be a dumb animal but he was too young to think that far ahead. He didn't know how to act or play pretend convincingly, he just knew how to be himself and he was starting to realize that was dangerous.

"Put the muzzle back on." the Collector ordered. The two zoologists gaped at him.

"But, sir, the turtle, its intelligent!" the woman protested. "Don't you think that we should at least ask it- him- where he came from? What he is?"

"No." the Collector. "I don't want to have to listen to that creature's annoying voice while I'm walking passing by its display. Keep that muzzle on it until you can build one that's less ugly."

"Please don't put that back on me!" Donnie cried. "I promise I'll be quiet!"

"Sir, listen, he's only a child." the male zoologist said. "It would be cruel to-"

"Put it back on." the Collector repeated. The male zoologist looked incredibly sorry as he picked up the muzzle again and lowered back to Donnie's level.

"No!" Donnie said and tried to get away. The man didn't chase after him.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. He grabbed Donnie's arm. He was trying to be as gentle as he could but he had to tighten his grip when Donnie began to struggle. He pressed the front of the muzzle over his mouth and the bands extended around his head and clasped shut in the back. Donnie looked into the zoologist's eyes. He did really look sorry but that didn't stop Donnie from feeling hurt. "I'll get this thing off of you once he's gone."

Donnie could only blinked in response.

"You said it is a child?" the Collector asked. The male zoologist nodded. "How long before it is fully grown?"

"I don't know how old he is." he responded.

"The turtle isn't like anything we've ever seen." the woman added. "We don't know if he'll age like a turtle or a human or maybe even a combination of the two."

"Figure it out." the Collector instructed. "You two are in charge of it until I say otherwise. Feed it, give it water, get it into good health. Those auctions never keep the animals in the best condition. Make sure to exercise it. It'll be a beautiful animal once fully grown."

"Yes sir." the zoologists nodded submissivly.

"Good." the Collector said. "Keep it here."

"Excuse me?" the female zoologist questioned.

"Don't prepare the habitat in the hallway." the Collector said. "I've decided this turtle will be the first valuable to go into my ultimate collection."

"We were not informed of any ultimate collection, sir." the male zoologist said monotoned.

"Ah, yes. I'm building another collection center where I'm going to keep my best things. I want you two to get this turtle into good health before I transport it." the Collector told them. "Also predict when it will be in its prime."

"Sir, you're not planning on-?"

"Do not question me!" the Collector barked raising his voice for the first time since Donnie had seen him. Donnie shrunk away from him in sudden fear. "I will do as I please with my belongings."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** In case you couldn't tell, the Collector wants Donnie in his prime when he's fully grown because he wants to taxidermy him. People who collect things want to keep their stuff in the best condition and the Collector understands that Donnie will eventually grow old and die but he doesn't want to waste him.

In TMNT, albino crocs/ gators seem to appear a lot. Its unimportant to this story, I just figured that the Collector would've bought another animal while he was on his collecting spree. That's why there was so much stuff in the truck. he basically just went on a big shopping spree.


	6. Collected Part 3

10 Years Ago

2 Hours After the Auction

Once the three of them were left alone, the two zoologists rushed to get the muzzle off of Donnie again. Donnie sat still as the man swiped the key card past the electronic lock and the woman pulled the muzzle off.

"Thanks." Donnie said rubbing his face.

"You're welcome… Donnie?" the woman said. "You said that was your name, right?"

"Yeah." Donnie nodded.

"How old are you Donnie?" the woman asked.

"Five." Donnie told her. The man and woman exchanged a look. He was just a child!

"What are you?" the man asked bluntly. Donnie didn't say anything. "I understand if you don't want to tell us but I really would like to know. Were you created in a lab?"

Donnie shook his head. "I don't think labs are advanced enough to grow intelligent life let alone a hybrid. The technology needed to alter and create DNA in the needed way just does not exist yet."

The two zoologists blinked in surprise at a child saying something so advanced. "Is your intelligence part of…?"

Donnie shook his head. "No. I just like reading. Do you have any books?"

"I don't think the Collector would like it if he knew you were reading." the male zoologist told him gently. Donnie looked disappointed. He didn't understand but he wasn't upset at him.

"What does the Collector want to do with me?" Donnie asked. "It sounded bad."

"It is bad." the man said. "But don't worry about it, Donnie. We'll make sure nothing happens to you."

The woman gave the man a warning look. The man looked away. He knew that was a promise that he couldn't keep.

"How did you get your name, Donnie?" the woman asked changing the subject.

"My dad named me and my brothers after artists in the reni- reni-"

"Renaissance?"

"Yeah. That." Donnie nodded. As smart as he was, he was still barely more than a toddler. He'd always had trouble with that word. "He named me Donatello. My brothers call me Donnie for short."

"Your dad, is he a turtle?" the woman asked.

Donnie shook his head. "No, he's a rat."

The man and woman exchanged another glance. Maybe they were giving the turtle's intelligence too much credit but then again, he was a child. Maybe he was making stuff up to help him deal with everything that just happened. There was really no way for them to know.

"What about your brothers?"

"Dad says not to talk to strangers." Donnie suddenly remembered. "And he says not to trust humans either."

"We understand, Donnie." the woman said.

"It's probably better that we don't know too much." the man agreed. "I'm worried this knowledge could be dangerous."

"How could knowledge be dangerous?" Donnie asked. "I love learning. Even more than all my brothers put together."

"What happened to your brothers?" the woman asked despite agreeing to stop asking questions.

Donnie suddenly looked incredibly sad. Tears filled his eyes but did not fall. "I don't know. When the bad people attacked us, we all got taken away. I don't know where they took them."

"The bad people? Are they the ones that sold you?"

Donnie nodded. "Yeah."

"Who were they?"

"Ninjas." Donnie said. The two zoologists struggled to hold back a laugh. This turtle was a child indeed.

"Why did the ninjas attack you and your family?" the man asked.

"Dad and the other ninjas don't like each other." Donnie told him. "Dad's a ninja. The best ninja. That's why he says not to trust people. Ninjas don't trust anybody."

The woman smiled. For someone who talked so much about not trusting, Donnie was still young therefore very trusting. She was suddenly glad that the Collector had ordered them to keep a muzzle on him in his presence. Such a cruel man would take advantage of this child's innocence and trust.

"Are you hungry?" the woman asked.

Donnie nodded vigorously. "Yeah! The bad ninjas didn't feed me very much. And they always gave me these weird plants. Blech!"

She smiled at his sudden disappearance of maturity. "So what do you eat?"

"Dad says turtles eat algae and worms." Donnie told her. "I like algae and worms but sometimes Dad finds scraps and he lets us have them."

The woman nodded. "I'll see if we have any algae and worms."

"I'll stay here." the man told her. "Maybe Donnie and I can talk some more."

"I like talking." Donnie nodded. "But don't ask about my family. Dad says we shouldn't tell anyone that kind of stuff."

* * *

Over the course of several weeks, the two zoologists spent a lot of time with Donnie but not only because of the Collector's orders or their scientific curiosity. Donnie was an interesting kid and it didn't take much time for them to get attached. He was in surprisingly good shape, he was able to run through the exercise courses that the Collector had ordered them to put him on without much difficulty. And he loved hearing about anything related to science.

Right now, the two zoologists were playing a game with Donnie. It was kind of like twenty questions but they could only use words related to biology. Donnie was a smart one. If he wasn't a turtle, the zoologists were sure he'd have skipped several years of school and would end up being very successful.

Donnie was in the middle of asking a question when the male suddenly grabbed the muzzle and shoved it over his face. It was the same muzzle, neither one of them had the heart to actually work on making a new one. The two humans jumped to their feet as the Collector walked into the room. They each pulled out a tablet and pretended to be busy.

"Status?" the Collector asked.

"He is in perfect health." the male zoologist reported.

"Good." the Collector said. "Prepare it for transport."

"What?"

"You heard me." the Collector said. "My new facility is finished, I have new staff members ready and it's time to transport all my merchandise. Have the turtle sedated and caged and in the truck within the hour. Am I clear?"

"But sir-!"

"Am I clear?" he repeated loudly. The two grimaced.

"Yes sir." they both said.

"Good." he said before walking out. The two zoologists turned back to Donnie who was watching them with tearful eyes.

"Do I have to go?" he asked when they removed his muzzle.

"Yes." the woman sighed.

"I'm so sorry that we can't do anything." the man told him.

"Why do you listen to that bad man?" Donnie asked.

"It's… complicated." the man said. "If it were up to me, all this money would be going to something important and none of these animals would be here but it's not so we just have to do as we're told. I promise we'll try our best to make this as easy as possible for you. Please don't hate us."

Donnie gave a small smile. "I could never hate you. You two are the first nice humans I've ever met. I'll miss you."

"Thank you." the man smiled back. His eyes watered a bit but he prevented tears from forming. He bent down and scooped Donnie up into his arms. "I'll miss you too."

The woman opened the door then stepped aside so the man could carry him into some sort of medical room. The man set him down on the table then gave him a quick look over then turned to grab something from a drawer. When he turned back, he was holding a syringe.

"This'll hurt a bit but you'll be alright afterwards." the man told him. Donnie nodded and the man prepared the shot. In a few seconds, he slowly plunged the needle into the muscle of his arm. It was only in a split second but it hurt enough for Donnie to flinch. "How are you feeling?"

Donnie didn't say anything as the sedative began to kick in. His eyelids began to droop and he began to slouch over. The man caught him in both arms before he could fall off the table.

The woman walked back into the room holding a large crate. A crate, not a cage. The kind used for dogs. It hurt her to watch her companion set Donnie inside but it was a comfort knowing that this was better than the tiny cage they'd found him in.

"Goodbye Donnie." she whispered. Two large men walked into the room and lifted up the crate. The woman reached out as they took it away. The male zoologist took her hand and held her back gently. He finally let his tears fall.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So Donnie's going to the Collector's ultimate collection. I bet you can guess where it is.

BTW, in case you were wondering why the background characters don't have any names, that's on purpose. I don't like OCs. I know that characters like the Collectors and the zoologists are barely there but not giving them names makes it easier on me.


	7. Collected Part 4

10 Years Ago

8 Hours After Being Sedated

Donnie woke up in a large crate. It wasn't large enough for him to stand up but there was enough room for him to sit up straight and stretch out along the bottom. It was a big improvement compared to that tiny barred cage that the Foot Soldiers had put him in.

Donnie felt the pang of loneliness in his chest as he added the two zoologists to the list of people that he had to miss. He hadn't known them nearly as long as his family but without them, those weeks in the Collector's house would've been terrible.

And now he was going to the Collector's 'ultimate collection'. Without the comfort of the two humans. And he still didn't know what the Collector was planning on doing with him. He'd heard the two zoologists discuss it when they thought he was asleep. Something about stuffing him when he was in his prime. He didn't know what that mean but it sounded bad.

Donnie couldn't tell where he was. This crate didn't have bars, it had solid walls, so he couldn't see out. The door was some kind of metal mesh but it was facing the wall so he couldn't see out. He could feel some kind of movement, he figured he was on another truck or possibly even a plane.

Donnie felt the sedative wear off. Clearly the man who'd given it to him didn't know how long Donnie was going to be transported so he wasn't given enough. Donnie tried to pull himself into his shell but he found that the muzzle had been replaced on his face and that stopped him from going in.

Instead, Donnie curled up and lay down, trying to think of anything but his impending future.

* * *

Donnie didn't know how long he was sitting there but after what felt like hours, he felt the vehicle- he'd realized it was a plane- descending. In a few minutes, he felt everything jerk as they landed and a while later, he heard the doors opening.

Donnie realized he was in some sort of storage unit. He felt his crate being lifted and he was set onto a cart. He heard a few other things being place around and on top of him. Donnie whimpered through his muzzle in anticipation.

Once the cart got moving, Donnie was able to see a bit of his surroundings through the door. The place they were at seemed like an airport rather than the place that the Collector had been talking about.

"You sure it's a good idea to be bringing all this stuff through a public area, boss?" the man pushing the cart asked. Donnie pressed against the mesh of the cage and looked out. There weren't a lot of humans walking around but there were enough. He got some stares but no one stopped to look at him. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Our own runway isn't finished yet." the Collector explained calmly. "We just had to use the closest one."

"I understand that boss but I feel like we should be covering the stuff. Too many eyes here, if y'know what I'm sayin'." the cart pusher said.

"We're on the least populated continent in the world." the Collector told him confidently. "Its fine. Now go get the rest of my possessions and don't keep me waiting."

As they waited, Donnie began people watching. He'd done it before through the sewer grates. He liked guessing what kinds of people he was looking at. Mikey always liked making up backstories for them. Donnie felt that familiar pang in his chest at the thought of his little brother.

As Donnie was people watching, he noticed two people in particular stood out from the rest. One of the people was massive, even bigger than the collector. The other stood at his side. He was much smaller. Not as small as Donnie but smaller than the average humans. Both of them wore heavy trench coats with matching hats, large boots, and gloves so that none of their skin showed but what Donnie noticed were their faces. Each wore a ski mask despite being indoors. They had to be overheating or something from all that clothing.

Donnie found himself staring. Suddenly the large one looked over. He nudged the smaller one and nodded in Donnie's direction. Donnie yeeped and scooted back in his crate a bit before leaning forward again, his curiosity getting the better of him. The two parties stared for a bit.

Donnie heard the cart pusher push another cart over. "That's the last of 'em. You want me to load these up on the truck and take 'em over to your place?"

Donnie assumed that the Collector nodded because he his cart began moving. The two people Donnie had been watching suddenly moved and made their way over.

"Wait." the smaller person spoke first. He had an accent that Donnie could not pinpoint. "Is that a mutant terrapin you have there?"

The Collector ignored him and Donnie's cart was pushed away.

The larger person stepped in front of them. "Excuse me, mister, my friend here asked you a question."

"My affairs are none of your business." the Collector told them. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

The cart pusher tried to go around the person blocking the way but the person just stepped back in his way again. He tried again had received the same results.

"Do you have a problem?" the cart pusher demanded.

"Yeah." the big guy said. "You're dissing me 'an my friend and you've got a mutant there. In a cage. With a muzzle. Like a dog. What is wrong with you?"

"Ram him." the Collector ordered. The cart pusher pushed the cart into the big guy. Donnie braced himself but that wasn't enough to protect himself from the impact. The person didn't budge. The cart shook and Donnie was scared his crate would fall off the cart. He tried to withdraw into his shell but got the same results he had every other time he had tried with the accursed muzzle on.

The cart pusher stared at the big guy in shock. He tried to ram him again but to no avail. The little guy walked over to stand by his friend. "The definition of insanity is to repeatedly try to do the same thing and expect different results. I suggest you stop, you're just embarrassing yourself."

"Move." the Collector growled and walked up to them. "Like I said, my affairs are none of your business."

"They are if they concern mutants." the little guy said. "My associate and I happen to have a great deal of knowledge on mutants and it is clear you do not nor do you respect them judging by the ghastly way you are treating the one in your possession."

"Move. My affairs are none of your business." the Collector repeated.

"They are." the big guy said. "Did you not hear a thing he just said?"

The Collector growled and rose his arm and boxed the big guy right in the face. Donnie shut his eyes and flinched. When he opened them, he saw that the big guy had merely turned his head. He turned back and glared at the Collector. He shrunk back a bit.

"Oh. You did not just do that." the big guy said. He cracked his neck. "Someone tell me he did not just do that."

"Bradford." the little guy warned. "Remember it is wise to avoid conflict."

"Don't worry about it, Rockwell." the big guy smirked under his mask. "I got this."

The big guy grabbed the Collector by the front of the shirt and lifted him up. The Collector lost his cool and flailed around. "What are you doing?"

"They call me Dogpound." the big guy said lowly. His sleeve rolled up a bit at the angle revealing a huge arm covered with tan fur. Donnie blinked. These guys weren't human. "I'm a mutant, just like that turtle you got caged there. I don't like it when my kind is treated badly and it's clear you are someone who causes that."

Rather than looking scared, the Collector looked pissed. He lashed out with one hand and tore the ski mask off of Dogpound. He gasped when he saw his face.

The face of a huge akita dog was staring at him. The Collector began to struggle. "What are you? Get away from me!"

The cart pusher charged at the little guy called Rockwell. Before he could get too close, he was surrounded in a pink glow and lifted into the air. Rockwell kept his gaze on him as he was slammed into the ceiling then the floor. He then looked around to make sure no one was looking.

He peeled off his mask revealing the face of a chimpanzee. Donnie felt his crate being lifted. "Bradford, leave him. We must go."

"What about the grub?" Dogpound asked.

"We have enough back at the base to last us awhile." Rockwell told him. "But grab something if you must."

Donnie heard a scream as Dogpound tossed the Collector across the room. Dogpound turned and tore a vending machine off the wall and held it under his arm like a football. "Are you going to wipe their minds, Rockwell?"

"No time." Rockwell said. "Security is going to be on top of us in 0.37 minutes. Let's go."

Donnie's crate was surrounded in the same purple glow as the cart pusher. He floated after the two as they ran through the airport. Several humans gasped or screamed at the sight of them. Within a few seconds, they were being chased by guards.

"Freeze!"

"Stop right there!"

"We're not making it out in time." Dogpound said. "I don't even see any doors."

"Yes we are." Rockwell said. "Make one."

Dogpound grinned at him. "I love it when you say that."

"I have never said that..."

"You should start saying it more then."

Dogpound rushed at the nearest wall and punched through it. As the wall disappeared, Donnie was nearly blinded by the sheer white behind it.

"Hurry it up." Rockwell snapped. He floated into the air and flew out of the building with Donnie's crate trailing after him. Behind them, Donnie could hear Dogpound's thundering footsteps pounding after them.

Donnie shivered as he rushed through the air after the two other mutants. If he could move his mouth, his teeth would be chattering. The winters in the sewers of New York could never compare to the cold he was feeling right now. It was indescribable.

Donnie curled up and tried to keep himself warm but he found himself falling asleep in the cold. With the other two mutants focused on running, there are no way to force him to stay awake and within minutes, he was unconscious.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Finally Donnie's in Antarctica! Dogpound and Rockwell are here to boot.

The whole Collector and collection thing is an idea that I got by combining several ideas from various stories. They all should be under the Favorites tab in my profile. All the stories there was pretty good, if your looking for reading material, check them out.

Hope you enjoyed!


	8. Collected Part 5

10 Years Ago

3 Days After Being Freed

Donnie woke to the feeling of his face free of a muzzle and the soft sheets of a bed against his hands. He smiled. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept on a bed. Actually he could, it was that night that the Shredder had attacked his home over two months ago.

Donnie sat up in the bed and looked around. Nothing around him looked familiar. The place was pretty nice compared to what he was used to living in but that wasn't saying much. The bed he was lying on was the only one in the room. The room was mostly inhabited by machines and charts.

On the other side of the room, the chimpanzee called Rockwell was writing something on one of the charts. His back was turned to Donnie. Donnie stared at him a bit.

"Hello?"

Rockwell jumped a bit in surprise and whipped around. He smiled when his gaze fell on Donnie. "Oh, hello there. I sincerely apologize for taking you out in that cold. In my haste I forgot that your kind has even less cold resistance than mine. You are feeling alright, aren't you? No problems with your breathing or your vision? No headaches or memory fog?"

Donnie blinked as he was bombarded with questions. "Um, I'm fine. Who are you? And where'd that dog go?"

"Oh, yes, yes, of course." Rockwell said. He pressed two fingers against his temple and in a few seconds. Dogpound entered the room.

"You're awake!" Dogpound grinned. "I was starting to get worried."

"Don't listen to him." Rockwell said. "He was worried about you ever since we took you from that disrespectful, obnoxious human."

"Thanks for that." Donnie smiled. "I didn't like him. He was mean. You guys are much nicer."

Rockwell and Dogpound smiled back at the childlike way Donnie said that.

"What's your name?" Rockwell asked.

"Oh. I'm Donatello but everyone calls me Donnie." Donnie said. "What are your names?"

"I am Doctor Tyler Rockwell." Rockwell introduced. "And this is my assistant Chris Bradford."

"Dogpound." Dogpound corrected. "They call me Dogpound."

"What he is referring to as 'they' is merely himself." Rockwell sighed. "I don't understand your immature desire to have a 'cool' name."

"How old are you?" Donnie asked hoping that they were sort of close to his age. Dogpound seemed young.

"I'm fourteen." Dogpound told him. Donnie wasn't too disappointed. Dogpound was kind of young. "Why? How old are you?"

"Just wondering." Donnie responded. "I'm five."

"You seem very mature for your age." Rockwell said. "Do you, perhaps have any interest in science? It's unlikely you'll be able to leave this facility so-"

"I love science!" Donnie interrupted loudly. "And math! No one else really likes it so I always got ahead but Dad could never find the right books so sometimes we would have to take breaks."

Rockwell blinked not really gathering everything that Donnie said. "Who are you talking about?"

Donnie's happiness and excitement faded and he looked down. Rockwell decided it wasn't best to ask. "What were you learning about?"

"Geometry." Donnie told him. "And chemistry."

Dogpound flicked an ear. This kid's schooling was further along than his.

"Did you go to school when you were human?" Rockwell asked.

"Nuh uh." Donnie shook his head. "I've never been human. Dad got us at a pet shop then this stuff got on us and we changed."

"Astounding." Rockwell murmured. "I've never heard of mutations making animals sentient."

"I'm not an animal!" Donnie shouted.

"I wasn't saying that you were." Rockwell told him calmly. "It's very clear that you're not."

"Did that guy treat 'chya like an animal?" Dogpound asked.

Donnie nodded. "He was mean. He put that stupid thing on my face to keep me from talking."

"How did you come into his possession?" Rockwell asked.

Donnie opened his mouth then shut it and paused. "I was told that I shouldn't talk to strangers."

Dogpound blew out of his mouth loudly.

"That is usually a very good lesson but we're on an uninhabited continent if you don't count those atrocious tourist vacation spots." Rockwell said. "We're the only people that won't try to capture you and send you off to a lab for dissection."

Donnie's eyes widened and he shuddered. He grabbed the blanket on the bed that he was sitting on and pulled it up and over his plastron protectively.

"Doc, you don't say that kind of thing to kids." Dogpound sighed. "Look, Donnie, wasn't it? You're stuck here. With us. If we were anywhere else, we'd be more than happy to help you find your Dad and whoever else might be missing you but we're in Antarctica so we can't exactly do that. We aren't gonna hurt 'chya or anything but it'll be a lot easier on you if you try your best to work with us."

Donnie stared at him a bit then nodded.

"Okay, so where do you come from?"

* * *

Within a few days after arriving at the facility, Donnie was settling in well. He was young and filled with energy. It gave the facility much more life. It didn't take a lot due to it being a very professional and research oriented place but Dogpound was thrilled to have a reason to make the place more homey and less boring.

Rockwell wasn't as thrilled with having a child around but secretly he enjoyed having Donnie around. Dogpound wasn't the best assistant. He wasn't exactly the smartest and he lacked interest in any of the research being done here. Donnie was the opposite. He was brilliant and seemed to have a desperate need to look at everything in the facility.

"How would you like to be my assistant?" Rockwell asked randomly one day as he pulled Donnie away from playing with the cables that ran through the main lab.

Donnie's face lit up then fell. "I thought Dogpound was your assistant."

"He is. I can have more than one assistant." Rockwell told him as he set him back down. "Dog- er, Bradford, doesn't have much interest in lab work anyway. He's better a field work anyway. You on the other hand, would make the perfect lab assistant. With some training, of course."

"I'd love to!" Donnie gave his gap toothed grin.

* * *

7 Years Later

"Hey Rahzar?" April asked.

"Hmm?" Rahzar responded. He, April, and Donnie were lying on the floor in the common room. They were all just lying around not doing anything other than staring at the ceiling. Rockwell had done the closest thing he could to grounding them. Since they couldn't go outside, that just meant no TV, no video games, no phones, and they were banned from the recreation room for a week. So basically all forms of entertainment were removed besides reading but they already did enough of that.

"How did you end up as Rockwell's assistant?" she asked.

Rahzar exhaled. "That is a good question."

"Hey!" Donnie protested. "Aren't you curious how I ended up Rockwell's assistant?"

April laughed. "That's obvious, Donnie."

"How so?"

"You're a genius!" April told him. "I bet you couldn't become his assistant fast enough."

"Well, aren't you at all curious how a turtle ended up in Antarctica?" Donnie asked. "I am cold blooded, afterall."

"I bet the story of how a rich boy who failed basically every class ever became the assistant to one of the greatest minds on the planet is a tad more interesting than how a turtle ended up in Antarctica." April smiled.

"I can't tell if you're kidding or not." Donnie grumbled.

"She not." Rahzar smirked. April slapped him affectionately. "Ow!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Finally this five parter is complete.

Just a heads up, I'm going to try and figure out a good update schedule so updates will be less frequent. I like having chapters backed up so if for whatever reason I can't write, it doesn't mean I can't update but that's not happening if I keep uploading these things at the rate I am now. Plus I'm going to be out of town for a few days so I might not have internet.

What kind of stuff do you want to see? I've got a list of things I want to write but anything you guys want to see gets prioritized. That's how Collected got written. I was seriously putting it off. I had no idea how I was going to get a cold blooded animal into Antarctica but thanks to a review by Shiny Pebbles of Doom, I thought about it a bit and figured it out. All writers love reviews.


	9. Rejected

Mikey is a very social turtle. He loves people and having friends but that's hard with being a mutant and all. How did he handle being rejected by humans before he met Mondo and Bebop?

* * *

8 Years Ago

Australia

Michelangelo woke up in the middle of the night. Why, he did not know. But he did know that he wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon though. He got up off the ground and walked out of the small cave that he and Leatherhead had decided to stay in for the night.

He glanced back at Leatherhead. He was huge, he took up most of the cave. After a few months of knowing him, Mikey realized he probably should've been scared of him and his scary teeth and rage episodes and massive size but he was way past the point where that was even a possibility. They were close now, Leatherhead always looked out for him and took care of him.

Mikey walked out of the cave but didn't go far. He sat down on the hard, cracked ground of the outback and stared up at the night sky. He liked the sky. Day, night, in between, it was all beautiful. He'd never been able to see it when he lived in the sewer.

Mikey blinked in confusion. Memories of living in the sewer were beginning to fade. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to remember something from before the past two years. With some difficulty, he remembered when Donnie had made an algae farm. They had eaten well for once. With full stomachs, everyone had gotten along well.

Everyone. Mikey struggled to remember who everyone was. He remembered Splinter and Donnie. Who else was there? Mikey remembered Raph, he liked chasing him. He knew there was one more. He wore a… green mask? No, blue. What was his name? Leo!

Mikey suddenly felt incredibly guilty. How could he forget his eldest brother! Leo had been there for him so many times. He'd comforted him through almost every nightmare Mikey had ever had.

After a few minutes, Mikey realized he might've forgotten Leo because someone else had filled his role. Leatherhead. Actually, Leatherhead was more of a father than a brother but Mikey could never forget his own father. Splinter was fading but Mikey was determined to hold on to his memories of him.

Donnie and Raph were fading but not as bad as Leo. Neither Donnie or Raph had been replaced yet so he couldn't forget them just yet. Donnie always played with him and they were as close as could be. Raph was difficult but loving. He teased Mikey mercilessly and pushed him around a bit. A lot. Mikey hadn't found a replacement Donnie or a replacement Raph and he didn't know if he ever would.

Mikey suddenly felt incredibly sad. The feeling wasn't welcome. He hadn't really felt it since he was taken from the sewers and his family. Mikey tried to push it away but he found that he couldn't.

Mikey glanced back at the sleeping form of Leatherhead. Of course he loved Leatherhead dearly but he couldn't fulfill everything he needed. Mikey knew he needed a friend. Someone to replace Donnie and Raph. Then he could finally forget his past and these feelings would go away.

Mikey began to feel even worse. He felt bad that he wanted to forget his brothers but he was sick and tired of feeling bad. Mikey got to his feet, deciding that he would fix it.

Mikey looked around. The cave was above ground level but not too high. It still gave him a pretty good view of the Outback. In the distance, Mikey could see a light with some sort of structures around it. How had he not spotted that earlier? Leatherhead had always pointed those out. He said they were called campsites. They were like temporary homes that humans set up. He always told him to avoid them. Right now, Mikey had forgotten all about that warning.

With one last glance at Leatherhead, Mikey set off towards it.

* * *

It was still dark by the time that Mikey made it to the human campsite. Mikey began to feel a bit nervous. Partially because he knew Leatherhead wouldn't approve but also because now that he was close, Mikey could see that the light he'd seen was coming from a fire.

A fire! What was wrong with these humans? Did they know fire was dangerous? Even Mikey knew that and that was saying something.

Stepping closer, Mikey saw that the humans were lying around the fire in cocoons of bulky cloth. The word sleeping bag came to mind but Mikey didn't know how.

Mikey took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It wasn't that long before the sun was up. Leatherhead would be up soon. Mikey wanted to be back by the time he was up. With another deep breath, Mikey stepped into the campsite.

When he set one foot into what he considered was the border, Mikey curled himself back protectively as if he expected something bad to happen. When it didn't, he tentatively took another step towards the nearest human. Then another.

Soon, he was standing pretty close to one. He'd been close to humans before, touched them even, that's how he'd gotten to the Outback, but this was still sort of a new experience. Cautiously, Mikey picked up a stick and poked the human.

The human didn't seem to notice. Mikey poked him again. This time, the human shifted slightly. Mikey smiled and made a game of it.

Poke. Shift.

Poke. Groan. Turn over.

Poke. "Stop it."

Mikey blinked and paused. The human had spoken to him. He was awake. Mikey poked again.

"Will you stop-" the human grumbled as he rolled over to face his poker. He was shocked into awakeness when his eyes fell on Mikey. He screamed.

Mikey screamed too. Only because he screamed. It startled him. The screams had woken up the other humans and they soon were screaming at the sight of him.

"Hey, its a turtle." a kid said. Mikey looked to him hopefully. The kid was the only one who stopped screaming. For some reason, kids seemed to be less frightened by mutants. Mikey started to walk up to him.

Mikey was about to ask if he wanted to be his friend when someone grabbed the kid and pulled him away. Another human grabbed a larger stick than the one Mikey held and began waving it threateningly at him.

"Get back!" the human yelled. Mikey stopped and looked up at the human in confusion.

"What is that thing?" a girl shrieked. "It gross!"

"Why is it walking on two legs?" another human shouted. Mikey looked down at himself. He wasn't gross! And what was wrong with walking on two legs? The humans were doing it, Leatherhead did it, everyone else did it.

"Get back!" the human with the stick shouted again. Mikey looked up at him. He looked angry. And scared. Scangry? He was scangry and Mikey didn't understand why. He tried to get closer to figure out but that just made the human look more scangry. "I'm warning you!"

Mikey tired to take another step closer. The human lashed out with the stick and jabbed him hard in the plastron. Mikey yelped as it hit him and he fell back on his tail. That hurt too. He looked back at the human in confusion and shock.

"Yeah, that's right." the human taunted. "Don't mess with me, you freaky turtle!"

Those words hurt Mikey more than the blow did. He got to his feet and ran off out of the campsite.

Mikey burst into tears as he ran. He couldn't really find the words to explain why. Those humans… they were so mean! Why didn't they want to be his friend?

Sniveling, Mikey walked back into the cave where Leatherhead was resting. At the sound of Mikey crying, Leatherhead's eyes snapped open.

"Michelangelo, what is the matter?" Leatherhead asked. "Are you hurt?"

Mikey shook his head, not really knowing how to respond, and threw his arms around Leatherhead, pulling him into a hug. This was not an uncommon thing but it always surprised Leatherhead when Mikey did this. Leatherhead gently put his hand on Mikey's back so he could reciprocate without hurting him.

"Everything is alright now, my friend."

* * *

Mikey was pretty upset so Leatherhead didn't press. He seemed to get over it pretty quickly.

A couple months later, the same thing happened. Again, Leatherhead didn't press.

But the third time it happened, Leatherhead knew he had to do something but he didn't know when. That was until the two were sitting on a hill, gazing out at the city and Mikey started to get a little teary eyed.

"What is the the matter, Michelangelo?" Leatherhead asked the same question he had all those months ago.

"Oh, it's nothing Leatherhead." Mikey sniffed and wiped his eyes with a swift motion. Leatherhead gave him a look showing that he knew Mikey was lying. "Its stupid. You wouldn't get it."

"Maybe not but it still helps to share." Leatherhead told him.

Mikey pondered for a moment. "Do you promise you won't laugh at me?"

"When have I ever laughed t you?" Leatherhead smiled. It was true, Leatherhead almost never laughed. He was as serious as a stickler. Mikey had to try pretty hard to get him to laugh and he only laughed when Mikey was trying to be funny, never when he did something by mistake or did anything silly.

"Sometimes I get lonely." Mikey said. Leatherhead looked sad for a moment and Mikey quickly corrected himself. "I mean, I love being with you but I miss by brothers. I can't forget them."

"Why would you want to forget your family?" Leatherhead asked. "Some of my fondest memories are with you and that kind human who I told you about."

Mikey nodded. He remembered the story of how Leatherhead ended up with the Kraang well. Before being captured, he was a human child's pet and they loved each other.

"Because I miss them." Mikey answered. "When I remember them, I get sad. I don't like being sad."

"No one does, Michelangelo." Leatherhead murmured. "No one does."

"I love being with you, it's just different." Mikey said. "I liked being four. You're kind of like L… Le- La- Lean? Leb… Lenard?"

"You're forgetting your brother." Leatherhead whispered in realization with wide eyes. Mikey nodded sadly.

"Just him." Mikey said. "You're like him. Sorta. I don't really miss him anymore. But I miss Raph and Donnie because I don't have anyone like them."

Leatherhead didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say.

"I tried looking for them." Mikey said quietly.

"What?" Leatherhead stared at him. "You tried finding your brothers?"

Mikey shook his head. "I tried finding a new Donnie and a new Raph but I couldn't."

Leatherhead looked sad. He always felt he couldn't fulfill all of the social needs for the young turtle but now that belief was confirmed. "I promise I will be with you always."

"I know." Mikey smiled and wrapped his arms around Leatherhead. Leatherhead smiled and hugged back.

* * *

Leatherhead and Mikey ended up falling asleep where they'd been sitting on the hill. Or at least Leatherhead did. Mikey was still wide awake. Leaning against his sleeping friend, Mikey continued to gaze out to the city.

Emotions always seemed to arise while he was gazing. Especially negative ones. Mikey didn't like negative emotions. They were no fun.

Glancing back at Leatherhead, Mikey felt a bit better. Their conversation had been good for Mikey but he still felt like something was wrong. Like he was incomplete. That something was missing.

Mikey looked back to the city. Memories of New York suddenly flashed back to him. He remembered something Donnie had once told him. Cities were places where people lived. That was the definition of what a city was, Donnie had said.

Mikey got to his feet, making a rash decision. Looking at Leatherhead one last time, he set off towards the city.

* * *

Walking across the Outback always took longer than expected. It was pretty empty and without any markers it was pretty difficult to tell how far something actually was.

Mikey stood at the edge of the city. The dried, cracked ground rapidly turned into cement signifying where the city began. Mikey hesitantly took a step. The road felt strange under his bare foot. He was used to rock.

The city wasn't as big as he remembered New York was. New York had tall buildings and lots of people. The streets here were structured the same but lacked what made New York the city that it is. It was a lot calmer here.

It was still dark but he still hid. Staying close to buildings felt safe. Peering out from his hiding place behind a trash can in an alleyway, Mikey spotted several humans walking up and down the streets.

"Hi, I'm Mikey." Mikey said as he stepped out of the shadows before two humans. They reeled back in shock. One of them screamed.

"What is that thing?" the other one shouted.

"I'm Mikey." Mikey repeated. "Wanna be my friend?"

The two humans suddenly bolted leaving a very confused turtle standing on the street. Mikey turned to look for other humans but he saw that they were running too.

"Where are you going?" he called after them. He ran a few steps but realized he wouldn't be able to catch up. Instead, he sighed and slouched in defeat and proceeded to walk down the street.

The only good thing about all the humans running off allowed him to walk down the street without any nervousness. There were no cars on the road but he still stuck to the sidewalks. On the outer side of both sets of sidewalks, there was a line of shops. If he hadn't felt so down, Mikey would've been running up to the windows and admiring whatever was on display.

Mikey heard a sound in the distance. He winced. It hurts his ears. He loved being loud but that sound was too much. He tried to ignore it but it kept getting louder.

Within a few minutes, a white car with red and blue lights on its roof pulled up. Two humans jumped out holding metal objects that Mikey didn't recognize but knew that they were pointing at him. Mikey stopped walking and looked up at them.

One of the cops spoke before Mikey could. "Freeze!"

Mikey beamed. This human came up to him! He must want to be his friend! "Hi, I'm Mikey."

"Get back!" the cop shouted as Mikey took a step towards him. He held the gun up higher. "I'm warning you!"

Mikey flinched at those words. The stick guy had said the same thing before hurting him. Mikey stopped and looked down sadly. He turned to walk away when a harsh sound penetrated the air.

Mikey looked down and saw that the sidewalk was cracked. A metal object stuck out of the crack's origin. Mikey looked up at the cop. Had he done that?

"Freeze!" the cop repeated. He fired another warning shot. Mikey screamed and bolted. Another bang sounded. Mikey felt something hit his shell.

"Kraang!" Leatherhead suddenly burst out of an alleyway and landed on the police car. The metal bent under impact. Leatherhead's eyes were glazed over and his jaw was wide open in a vicious roar. All of his sharp, white teeth were visible. He looked scarier than Mikey had ever seen him.

The two cops began firing at Leatherhead but the bullets did nothing more than anger him. Leatherhead roared again and swiped out with one hand. The cops backed up. One of them pulled out a radio.

"This is Johnson on third. We need backup immediately. I repeat, back up immediately."

Leatherhead's eyes returned to normal but he still looked pissed. "Michelangelo, run and don't look back. I will find you."

Mikey didn't hesitate. He took off running. A piercing scream rang through the streets. Mikey followed Leatherhead's order to not look back but if he had, he would've been traumatized. One of the cops was drenched in red and was in Leatherheads jaws while the other was firing at him.

* * *

Mikey just kept running and running. He heard sirens behind him and he knew he was being chased. Cops fired at him but they were all terrible shots. Most of them missed but a few grazed his shell. Thankfully none of them hit his legs or he'd definitely be down for the count.

"Help!" Mikey wailed as he ran even though he knew no one would come to his aid. Mikey was running out of breath but he still managed to stay ahead of the cop car. He didn't know how long that would last.

Mikey ran out of the city but he was still in urban area. Streets just turned to road and buildings became less dense but larger. He was being chased into a warehouse facility.

He suddenly heard something fly through the air.

He heard an explosion behind him.

"Woo! Nailed it!" a voice shouted. It was coming from ahead of him. Mikey looked up to see a man standing on top of one of the buildings. Something purple shot out from him. It flew through the air and hit another one of the police cars chasing Mikey. "Woo! Nailed it again!"

Mikey stopped running as he met the warehouse. He looked up at the man. He couldn't see him very clearly but he was wearing some kind of gear that glowed a bright purple through the darkness of the night.

The man leaped off of the warehouse and Mikey saw he wasn't even a man at all. He was some sort of pig.

The police cars pulled over and the cops piled out and pointed their guns at the mutant standing defensively in front of the young turtle.

"What is that thing?" one of the cops asked.

"The name's Bebop." the pig man smirked. "And my friend over there is Mondo Gecko."

"What?"

"Cowabunga!" a voice screeched and a thud was heard as something landed on the police car. A boy around Mikey's age stood on all fours and glared down the cops. "Back off! You don't want to mess with me!"

The cops were silent in shock. Tonight they'd seen not one but four mutants.

"I don't get paid enough for this." one of the cops said and took off.

"Coward!" another cops shouted after him as he pulled out his baton. He swung at Mondo Gecko but he rolled out of the way.

"Hee hee! Don't forget about me!" Bebop said and fired another laser blast. Up close, Mikey could see that he was firing it from on top of his head. The blast hit the ground around the cops and sent them all flying.

Mondo got off of the cop car and stood over one of the cops as he tried to get up. He leaned over and made the scariest face he could. The cop screamed and scrambled to his feet and started running towards the city.

Mondo whipped around and hissed at the other cops and they followed the other cops' example and took off.

"That's right! You better run!" Mondo shouted after them.

"You good, lil green?" Bebop asked as he turned to Mikey who was still cowering behind him.

"Yeah. Thanks." Mikey nodded.

"No prob." Bebop said. "We muties gotta stick together."

Suddenly Mikey remembered. "Leatherhead!"

"What?" Mondo asked as he walked over.

"Leatherhead, I left him in the city." Mikey said quickly. "I gotta get back to him!"

Mikey started running again but Bebop grabbed him by the shell and pulled him back. "You can't go into the city! That's suicide!"

"Yeah, bro." Mondo agreed. "Especially since the police know what's up. Your friend's on his own."

Mikey looked defeated. Mondo put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure your friend's fine. With a name like Leatherhead, he better be crazy strong."

"He is." Mikey said. Then he remembered something. "He said he'd come find me."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Bebop asked. "Let's get you somewhere your friend can find you, lil green. No way he'll look all the way out here."

* * *

"Leatherhead!" Mikey yelled excitedly.

The massive alligator turned and a smile appeared on his face. "Michelangelo!"

The two hugged while Mondo and Bebop hung back. "Guess that's out cue to leave."

"Wait." Leatherhead stopped them. "Thank you for returning Michelangelo to me."

"No prob." Bebop repeated. "We muties gotta stick together."

"Does that mean you'll stay with us?" Mikey asked hopefully.

Mondo and Bebop exchanged an uncertain look.

"We are in your debt." Leatherhead spoke. "And it is unsafe for mutants to live so close to humans. The Outback is much safer. You are more than welcome to join us."

"Please?" Mikey begged looking at the two of them with his best puppy eyes.

Mondo and Bebop smiled.

"Cowabunga!" Mondo yelled. "We're living in the Outback!"

"Hee hee!" Bebop shouted. "Alright!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm back! Having no internet sucks.

I don't think I've mentioned this but its kind of important to understand the story. Y'know how at the top it says 8 years ago or 5 years ago or 10 years ago or some number of years ago? That's number of years before the chapters titled "South America", "Australia", "Antarctica", and "Asia" in the story "Four Corners of the Earth". Those four chapters take place at the same time that the turtles leave for the surface in the TV show.

Those 4 chapters are considered Present Day until more things happen after it. The turtles are 15 years old at that time. It is important to know the turtles' ages in these oneshots because they vary from chapter to chapter. Figure out their age by subtracting the number of years ago from 15.

Also its important to remember that these are not in chronological order.

This story is going to be updated once or twice a week, possibly every other week, but if that doesn't happen, don't worry. I originally intended for this story to be a filler story/ a break story meaning I just write it when I don't feel like working on something else but then I actually ended up liking it. I've got a lot I need to do in real life and there are other things I want to work on but I'll still work on this. I've been having writer's block of sorts on this. I know what I want to write but the chapter doesn't want to be written.


	10. Mechanics

How did Fishface get his mechanical legs?

* * *

3 Years Ago

South America

"Don't you dare."

"How do you know I'm going to do anything? Your eyes aren't even open."

"I'm not stupid, Casey. I don't need to see you to know what you were about to do."

"Oh yeah? What was I about to do?"

Raph opened his eye and pushed himself into a seated position on the cool floor of the cave. Slash lay on his plastron still fast asleep a few feet away.

"You were gonna hit me in the face with that fish you're holding behind your back." Raph said.

"What? Nooo…" Casey said guiltily. His eyes darted back as he looked over his shoulder to what he was hiding behind his back. "What fish?"

"The one Fishface caught and yelled across the cove for you to come get." Raph deadpanned.

"Merda." Casey hissed. "There has to be a better way to do that."

"Don't waste food, Jones." Slash's eyes opened suddenly and he sat up like Raph. He had to duck a bit to keep his head from hitting the ceiling but he was still able to fit comfortably.

"I'm not wasting it." Casey protested. "We can still eat a fish after I slap Raph with it."

Slash leaned over and sniffed Raph then reeled back. "No. No we can't."

"Hey!"

"Fire burns away all the germs and stuff." Casey told him. "But seriously Raph, bathe once in a while."

* * *

Later that day, Casey walked over to the shore and waded into the water a bit to meet where Fishface was waiting eagerly on news of their prank.

"So how'd it go?" Fishface asked. "I heard no screams."

"Didn't get the chance to hit 'im with it." Casey told him. "He said he could smell it."

Fishface sighed. "We need to think of a better prank."

"Yeah." Casey said sitting down so he was closer to eye level with Fishface. His pants immediately got soaked but he didn't care much. It was hot here. The water felt good and his clothes would dry pretty quickly when he got out. "I wish you could come on land. You'd be so much better at this than I am."

"Nonsense." Fishface smiled. "I'm the brains, you're the brawn. I'm the evil mastermind, you're the executioner. I'm the president, you're the chancellor."

"What?"

"Eh, that last one didn't make sense." Fishface shrugged. "But you get my point."

"Yeah." Casey nodded. "Did you find anything cool in the water today?"

"I found this weird glowy thing but I couldn't get it out of the ground." Fishface told him.

"Do you want some help?" Casey asked.

Fishface shook his head. "Its to deep. You'd probably drown before you reached it."

"Good point." Casey sighed. "I could ask Raph or Slash. Turtles can hold their breath a long time, right?"

Fishface nodded thoughtfully. "I'd never thought about that. I mean, before you and Raphael came along, I tried getting Slash into the water and he sunk like a rock but I never thought about Raphael. As a boy he would try to follow me into the water but I would never let him since he was so small. I suppose he's strong enough to swim in the ocean."

"I can picture that. Baby Raph sounds adorable." Casey chuckled. He glanced back towards the land and saw Raph and Slash heading towards the mountains.

"What are they doing?" Fishface asked.

"No idea." Casey said and rose. Residual water dripped off of his pants and water splashed back into the ocean as he headed towards the shore. "I should probably go help them. See you tonight?"

"Of course." Fishface smiled. Casey waved and turned back around to chase after his friends. Fishface's smile slipped into a frown as he watched his friend walk away. Once Casey was out of sight, he backed up and dove back into the ocean.

* * *

Fishface frowned. It was nighttimeHe was at the shoreline looking up at the land and saw nothing.

"Where are you?" he muttered as he scanned the mountainside for his friends. They said they'd be here by now. Fishface would never admit it but he hated not being able to go on land. Well, he'd admit that but not why. The water was lonely, the land was where his friends were and he hated not being able to be with them and join them on their adventures.

Sighing, Fishface turned away and swam into deeper water. He flipped over onto his back and looked up at the night sky. The moon was at its fullest tonight.

Remembering lessons from his childhood, Fishface began lazily identifying various points in the night sky. The moon, constellations, planets. He saw several satellites but obviously he didn't know what those were called.

He was about to flip back over and find a place to sleep when he spotted something in the corner of his eye. Fishface turned his head and looked around for it.

He saw something again. The view was unclear but clearer than the last. It was some kind of light. Fishface sank back so only his head was out of the water. Using his webbed hands as paddles, he spun around in circles rapidly.

"Where are you?" he said under his breath.

Suddenly, out of thin air, it appeared.

The sight of it flickered until it solidified and came into view.

"Dios Mio!" Fishface yelped. Two spaceships hovered in the sky right above him. They looked like crude drawings of UFOs but real and right before him.

The two ships looked very similar to each other. The majority of the ship was a metal base. Above it was some sort of lookout dome made of the same material and below it hung strange tentacles. The base of the ship glowed with strange markings. The same color as something Fishface had told Casey that he'd found on the bottom of the ocean earlier that day.

The two ships were circling each other in a smooth pattern. Short rods jutted out from the base of the ship. Energy beams fired out. Anytime one was shot, the targeted ship would weave around it and counter.

This went on for several minutes. Fishface was mesmerized by it. Then, as quickly as they appeared, the two ships vanished.

* * *

"Guys, guys!" Fishface yelled as loudly as he could as he swam to shore. He pulled himself as far up onto land as he could go. "Come on, you have to see this!"

Fishface looked around the cove and saw nothing and no one.

There was no response and that familiar feeling of loneliness returned.

Fishface lost his excitement and hung his head. Using his arms, he started pushing himself back into the water, more aware than ever of the pain of the stones digging into his underside as he slid back.

With a heavy heart, Fishface swam back to where he'd been stargazing. This time, he merely glanced at the sky before diving deep into the ocean to the bottom where he burrowed himself under some sand and fell asleep.

* * *

Fishface woke to the sound of a splash. He shook himself free from his cover and swam away from his sleeping spot with the sleekness of an eel.

Above him, he could see some sort of dark shape. As he neared, he saw the tentacles.

It was the spaceship! It was here, floating on the surface of the water.

Fishface swam up to it and ran his hand along the smooth outer layer. It was cool to the touch. Fishface touched the glowing marks. He felt a buzz of power beneath his finger tips.

He heard something and he turned to see the other spaceship hovering behind him. The ship remained for a moment then flew off into the night.

The fallen ship suddenly lurched and FIshface turned his attention back to it. The ship began to rise out of the water.

Fishface didn't move. He just watched. He expected it to just fly off and ignore him like the other ship but he felt something wrap around his waist. Fishface looked down and saw one of the metal tentacles had grabbed him.

"What? Get off!" Fishface shouted. He put his arms where the tentacle wrapped around him and pushed. Thanks to the way his body was shaped, he slid right out and gravity took a hold of him.

The ship hadn't risen that far so Fishface didn't have far to fall but those few seconds of feeling the air rush by him as he fell were some of the most terrifying of his life.

Fishface hit the water with a heavy splash. He used the momentum of his fall to propel his swimming. Thrashing his tail wildly and pressing his arms to his sides, he swam away from the ship as fast as he could.

After he'd swam a considerable distance, Fishface risked a glance back. He did not expect to see the ship right on his tail. In his haste, he hadn't heard the loud hum of the ship's engines.

A tentacle reached out once more. Fishface weaved around it only to swim right into another tentacle. It wrapped around him tightly and was soon joined by another. He struggled but couldn't free himself from the grip.

The ship stopped moving through the water and began to move back towards its home in the sky. Fishface stopped struggling and took in a big gulp of water as they broke through the surface.

The ship rose and the tentacles began to retract, pulling Fishface in. The underside of the ship began to open up and Fishface was dragged in.

The inside of the ship felt different from the cool nighttime air outside but he knew he still couldn't breath it. Fishface kept his mouth shut as his lungs began screaming to breathe. The tentacles that reached inside released him and threw him against a wall.

The impact caused Fishface to grunt. The remaining water fell out of his mouth and within a few seconds, he began gasping. He couldn't breathe.

Fishface began to claw at the ground with his arms, trying to crawl back to the opening in the floor that lead to a fall to sweet, sweet water. But before he'd even made it a full foot, the opening closed up right before him.

"No, no, no, no, no…" he moaned as he gasped. His breathing was labored as he inhaled the insufficient air. It felt like his chest was on fire.

"What is it that Kraang brought onto what is known as Kraang Ship to show Kraang?"

The voice surprised Fishface. He forced his eyes to focus on the speaker to keep them from rolling back as he began to black out from lack of water.

The speaker was some sort of human shaped robot. Fishface was too lightheaded from lack of breathing to have any reactions.

"It is what is known as a mutant."

"One of the mutants known as the mutants created by exposure to that which is known as mutagen."

"The mutant known as one of the mutants created by exposure to that which is known as mutagen appears to be the mutated form of that what is known in earth terms as a fish."

"That which is known in earth terms as fish is unable to breathe in this atmosphere."

"Water…" Fishface managed to get out.

"Kraang, give that which is known as assistance to Kraang."

One of the Kraang grabbed Fishface and picked him off the ground so he was upright. Fishface didn't have the strength to resist. His eyes began to roll back and his head began to droop as he began to black out.

Suddenly one of the Kraang grabbed his head and began to shove something up one of his nostrils.

Fishface's eyes opened so fast that it hurt. His eyes flicked around and saw the Kraang feeding a long tube up his nose. Fishface flinched back and tried to pull away but he just ended up pushing into the Kraang behind him. He flailed his arms out in front of him but the Kraang holding the tube was too far to hit. He began making a choking noise.

"The one known as fish mutant must not resist Kraang."

"Kraang is providing that which is known as help."

Fishface couldn't respond as panic began to set in. The tube was being pushed further up his nose. He could feel how far back it was going. He felt his adrenaline spike and body begin sweating. He didn't even know he could sweat.

"Kraang, get that which is known as an exosuit for that which is known as fish mutant."

Fishface barely heard what the Kraang were saying or the metal footsteps walking away. His entire focus was on the tube and the panic spreading through his body. He began breathing hard, not even noticing that he could breathe now.

He felt the tube being pushed further in until he felt it in his throat. His arms began trembling.

Time was slowed and each second felt like an eternity. All Fishface could see was the Kraang in front of him and its robotic face as it fed the tube further into him. Fishface squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stay calm.

He didn't notice the Kraang step away. He only felt the tube leaving his body.

At first, all he felt was relief. Then, it felt good. It was the same feeling as a big wad of snot leaving his nose. He hadn't felt that since he was human. Then more panic set in. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it got. What did they do to him? How far had that tube gotten? Had it hurt him? What were they going to do now?

Now that the tube was gone, Fishface found that he couldn't breathe again and he began gasping. The Kraang ignored it.

One of the Kraang came forward holding what looked like the bottom half of one of the robot bodies. It had some modifications but it look the same for the most part. Three more Kraang stood behind him. One held a series of panels, the second held a piece of machinery with the same pink glow as everything else these aliens had, and the third held a handful of tubes like the one that had just been removed from Fishface.

The Kraang with the Kraang parts set them down and the Kraang holding Fishface set him down on them. The Kraang with the panels pressed one against each of his gills. Fishface felt something moving around him but he was in too much shock to try and figure out what it was.

The Kraang with the tubes came forward. Fishface reeled back but the Kraang didn't shove anything up his nose this time. The Kraang began to plug the tubes into the robotic parts so that the legs connected to the panels on Fishface's gills.

The final Kraang stepped forward and placed the glowing machinery on what Fishface viewed as his chest. All the Kraang stepped back and admired their creation.

"That which was previously known as fish mutant is now that which is known as fish mutant modified by Kraang."

Fishface looked down at his body to see what the Kraang had done to him. His heart skipped a beat in joy.

He had legs! They weren't the same as when he'd been human but they were still legs.

He looked back to see where his body had gone. Most of his length rested behind the legs almost like a tail.

Fishface also found that he could breathe. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the feeling of his lightheadedness fading away.

"Now that that which is now known as fish mutant modified by Kraang is not that which is known as dying, it is time that Kraang study its creation like all other mutants."

"Wait, what?" Fishface questioned looking up from his newly altered body.

"Kraang created all mutants, Kraang must study all mutants."

Fishface shuddered. What they'd done to save him had terrified him, he didn't want to stay here long enough to find out what being studied was like.

"That's not happening." Fishface glared. Rushing forward on his new legs, Fishface jumped into the air and kicked the nearest Kraang in the face. The Kraang's head came clean off. Fishface grinned.

"Stop!" one of the Kraang shouted. Fishface didn't even acknowledge it. Pushing his weight to his hands and upper body, Fishface reared his legs into the air and kicked back like a donkey. Two Kraang were sent flying. he tipped over from the shift of weight but quickly rolled back to his new feet in a crouch ready to attack.

"That which is known as fish mutant modified by Kraang is that which is known as ungrateful."

"Ungrateful yourself." Fishface said and kicked another Kraang. All the Kraang in the room were down but he heard metal footsteps coming from behind the walls and knew there were more coming.

Running over to a control panel, Fishface began hitting buttons randomly. He felt the ship lurch as it changed direction. Fishface began pressing things faster. Gravity changed, weapons fired, the tentacles moved. Even Kraangy music played but somehow it was the last button he hit that did what he wanted.

The hatched in the floor opened and Fishface could see the surface of the ocean below him. He walked up to it. Another door open and more Kraang filed in.

"So long suckers." Fishface smirked and jumped out of the hole and pummeled into the water with his added weight.

"Oh Kraang."

* * *

Fishface quickly realized he could remove himself from his robotic body but he couldn't figure out how to swim and carry his legs along with him so he ended up just walking on the ocean floor. It was much slower than swimming but it was worth it. It seemed the robot parts were as waterproof as the living parts.

It was morning by the time he got to waters he recognized. He knew he was close to home. Fishface felt an idea forming in his head.

He separated himself from his legs and swam off into his hunting grounds.

* * *

An angry cry echoed throughout the cove. It was then filled with laughter.

"Casey?!" Raph raged and pulled a dead fish off his face.

"What'd I do?" Casey mumbled tiredly. Sitting up, Raph saw that Casey was still asleep. He looked up at his pranker and saw Fishface standing over him with a sly grin on his face.

"Good morning Raphael." Fishface smirked.

"What? Fishface? How?" Raph said forgetting his rage. Slash and Casey grumbled awake but their tiredness disappeared at the sight of their friend. "How are you on land?"

All of their gazes fell to Fishface's new enhancements.

"Wicked legs, bro!" Casey exclaimed.

"What is that?" Slash asked. "And how'd you get it?"

Fishface was pleased to have all the attention. "I got legs now."

"We can see that." Raph said. "How?"

Fishface shrugged. On the way here, he'd debated telling his friends about the Kraang but he realized it was probably better that they didn't know about aliens who wanted to experiment on mutants. Afterall, Raph was only twelve and Casey fifteen. In his eyes, they were barely more than children.

"Let's just say I wished upon a star." Fishface said. "Now, are we going to spend all dat talking about it? I want to see the wonders of the land once more!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This was actually the reason I started this story in the first place.

The new update schedule seemed like a really long time but it actually works. I legit have not written anything since I uploaded the last chapter. I've been busy. I had about a zillion medical appointments (one that included having a tube shoved up my nose. Unfortunately it was not meant to provide me with oxygen but I still know how poor Fishface feels), my cousin got married and I partied late so my sleep cycle is messed up, and I have summer homework that I did not do even though the summer is almost over. The more I do it, the less it seems like I'm going to finish it. Its for one of those classes that you do all the learning at home and classtime is just tests so I don't think I'll have much time once school starts back up.

I know I said at the end of the original fic I'd have a sequel written in a couple months. That's probably not going to happen. I will start writing it eventually, sooner than later, but I don't know when. The original Four Corners of the Earth really wasn't my best work. I wrote 7 of the chapters in one day and didn't really edited it much. Someday I might rewrite it but in the meantime, I'm just going to focus on the new stuff being good.

Also I've been trying to figure out which characters to put in the story properties. The characters should be under the most focus but I can't really figure out which characters I should put. Obviously Fishface. I never liked him much but this AU version is easy to write about. I'm thinking maybe Tigerclaw or maybe Donnie or Rahzar but I don't know. Please tell me if you have any ideas.

I usually have at least one chapter backed up before I upload. I have about half a chapter written. I'd really appreciate any requests. Plans for a chapter would also be welcomed. I know people want to see something about Karai, I've got plans for that, don't worry.

I don't get a lot of reviews. I'd really appreciate it if you left reviews about the above or just general feedback.

BTW, this story is now longer than the original as of the last chapter I think.


	11. Cub

**Note:** Pretend they're speaking Japanese. Or don't. In the TV show they speak English in Japan for some reason.

* * *

How did Karai end up with Tigerclaw rather than Shredder?

* * *

15 Years Ago

Japan

Events had escalated quickly. One moment Tigerclaw was trying to get fur out of the mechanism in his laser gun, the next he was jetting into the sky and across a forest with uncanny speed.

The day had started off good. Tigerclaw had located one of the few remaining clans in Japan the previous week and he'd spent the previous day competition his study of their ranks. They seemed like a good clan, some of them could use some work but they were good ninjas.

He'd stolen some food and settled down on a hill a few miles away to rest and clean his weapons when in the distance, something bright in the night caught his eye. To a normal eye, it would've been bright but to a mutant, it was blinding. Tigerclaw glared against it and held up a paw to shield his eyes while they adjusted.

At first, he'd thought the source was some sort of technology but after a moment, he realized it instead was something that all creatures feared. Fire.

Tigerclaw booted up his jetpack. It sprayed exhaust from lack of use but was able to launch him into the sky without much difficulty.

With the bird's eye view, Tigerclaw could see clearly see the fire. Just outside the forest that he'd taken refuse in, the simple houses of the clan sat clustered together. One house off the edge was blazing with an angry fire that threatened to consume the forest and village around it.

Surrounding the house awaited a clan of ninja. Some held banners displaying their clan symbol. As Tigerclaw neared, he saw that the clan standing before the fire was not the clan who he knew lived here.

Tigerclaw flew close and landed. None of the ninjas turned, they just watched the house of their rivals burn. Inside, Tigerclaw could see the silhouettes of two men fighting.

Tigerclaw felt someone run into him. He unsheathed his claws, expecting to be attacked, but the runner ran right past him, not even noticing he was a mutant in their haste.

"Yoshi!" the runner called as she stopped before the burning house. Tigerclaw saw that she was a woman. Without hesitance, she rushed towards the doorway.

"Stop!" Tigerclaw yelled after her. "It is too dangerous!"

The woman didn't seem to hear him. He looked at the watching ninja and saw that they did nothing to stop her, they merely watched.

Tigerclaw drew his gun from his belt and switched it to freeze. He jetted back into the air so he hovered in the air and aimed his gun at the house where the woman had entered. Against the harsh light of the flame, he could see her shadow. A blast of ice shot from his gun at the flames nearest to her but it didn't do much against the raging fire. Tigerclaw hoped that his efforts at least held off the flames until she reached whoever this Yoshi person was. Hopefully he could get her out as well as himself.

The stream of ice from Tigerclaw's gun began to flicker in and out until it went dead. Tigerclaw slapped it against his thigh and managed to get one last shot before it died completely.

Tigerclaw let out a savage roar of frustration. He was tempted to throw his gun at the fire but he wouldn't let his temper get the better of him. Being a mutant, he could only have very little, losing that gun would be idiotic. It had saved his neck a number of times and surely would again many times before it was naturally lost or destroyed.

Tigerclaw looked around for anything else that could put out the fire. His eyes only fell on the ninjas watching from the treeline.

"Have you no honor?" Tigerclaw asked no ninja in particular. "You allow your enemies to die in fire with only an untrained woman as assistance?"

No one responded, Tigerclaw didn't expect them too. They didn't seem to be paying attention to him at all. If they did, there'd probably be a sword pressed against his throat or buried into his hide by now. They just watched the fire consume the house like a hungry beast.

Suddenly Tigerclaw's sharp hearing picked up on something. An armored man began to make his way out of the burning building. He clutched his side in pain and walked with a heavy limp.

One of the ninja dropped from his place in the trees and came over to assist the man. The man waved him off and insisted he walk on his own.

After a few feet, the man stopped and kicked aside some debris. He bent over and picked something up off the ground. He looked up and around at his clan but not up at Tigerclaw. The surrounding ninjas abandoned their places and fell in step behind the man who had walked out of the fire.

Tigerclaw was tempted to attack them but he knew that as skilled as he was, even he couldn't take on an entire clan and he certainly wouldn't dishonor himself by taking advantage of their weakness at the moment.

Tigerclaw landed back on the ground and looked back at the fire. A small stream ran though the village. Tigerclaw stripped himself of all his gear and weapons and lay them on the ground before diving into the stream.

The stream wasn't too deep but he was able to fully submerge. He felt the familiar feeling of the water trying to drag him and his heavy fur down to his death but he resisted and resurfaced narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the small bridge that crossed the river.

Fully soaked, Tigerclaw rushed towards the burning house dripping with water.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" he called even though he knew it was unlikely anyone could hear him.

He pushed aside fallen beams that blocked his path and tried to make his way to where he'd seen the fighting. The fire was still going strong but not as strongly as before. The water on his pelt kept it from catching fire as he got close to the fires. Tigerclaw was able to navigate through despite the powerful orange that surrounded him.

Parts of the floor were clear though they were charred to a crisp. They provided clear places to put his paws as shoved away burning walls and debris. Tigerclaw hissed as he stepped on and ember but ignored the pain. He knew he'd be dealing with four very burned pads later.

"Is anyone there?" he shouted and pressed his hand against a wall. The wall collapsed causing the flames on it to spread to what remained of the nearby structure but the fire was running out of house to consume.

Tigerclaw eventually made it to the center of the house where the fire had been the worst. The worst part was usually the first part to burn out and that was the case here. A safe haven of ash surrounded by a retreating inferno.

The floor wasn't visible with all the debris lying on top of it. Tigerclaw began clearing it and tossing it to the side, trying to avoid adding fuel to the fire but also not really caring where the charred wood ended up. His sore paws were soon covered in a layer of ash. He wiped them on his stomach leaving a smear of black on drying wet fur.

He saw a particularly large beam, it was likely a support beam for the ceiling. As he cleared the planks around it, he spotted a flash of white against the black.

Tigerclaw sweeped the ash away with one swipe of his tail and got to his knees and began digging through the dross. Almost immediately, he uncovered a human hand. Beneath his fur, Tigerclaw paled at the sight of it and began clearing the area with renewed energy.

He soon recognized the body as the woman that had run past him earlier. Retracting a claw, he felt her wrist for a pulse. He didn't find one. He dipped his head in sadness, respect, and guilt.

"Kaimyō. Gomeifuku wo inorimasu." he said respectfully then rose again. He knew there was at least one other person in here. Tigerclaw tried to find a scent but he just ended up with a nose and mouthful of spoke. He began a coughing fit. He crouched into a squat to keep himself from falling. He put one hand on the ground to steady himself. His tail lashed behind him for balance.

Bile threatened to rise but Tigerclaw had forced it down. He'd seen dead bodies before and he'd inhaled smoke before but the two were not a good combination.

Tigerclaw rose slowly and looked around. On the other side of the room he saw another particularly large pile of wreckage. The fires were beginning to die down even more so he was able to circle around it to the other side.

Immediately, he saw the upper half of a human sticking out from the pile. Tigerclaw immediately felt guilty for not noticing the man sooner. He was practically out in the open. Tigerclaw got down and reached to feel his neck for a pulse but saw the man's chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.

Tigerclaw tried to pull the man out by his arms but was met with resistance. The lower half of his body was still buried under the fallen wood and stone. Tigerclaw seriously hoped the man wasn't paralyzed.

Tigerclaw got a better grip on the man's arms and tried pulling harder. His claws dug into the man's skin a bit but blood was not drawn. Tigerclaw yanked harder and the man groaned despite his unconsciousness. Tigerclaw lay him back down and turned to the pike pinning him down.

Tigerclaw cleared the easy pieces at the top to removed some weight then shoved it as hard. The pile shifted and Tigerclaw looped back around and grabbed the man's arms again. He really did not want to waste his time digging him free. Tigerclaw pulled and the man slowly slid out.

As the man's lower half came into view, Tigerclaw was grateful to see that the man's legs were still attached and seemed relatively undamaged. The fires around them were spitting their last embers and were nearly gone. Ignoring them, Tigerclaw dragged the man outside.

Tigerclaw gave him a once over and decided that he was alright. It seemed that this man was one of the two he'd seen fighting. He had defended himself well, he had very few injuries. They were present but weren't currently engandering him. His burns weren't that bad either. It would take time but they'd heal.

Tigerclaw was tempted to lick the soot off of his face and arms but his human mind overpowered his cat-like instincts and he told himself that was disgusting.

Tigerclaw looked around and decided that this place was safe enough, it was unlikely that that other clan would return.

He considered dragging that woman out of the building but his muscles were tired and he figured that the man in front on him must know her in some way. It should be him that care for her corpse rather than the mutant that had failed to save her.

With one last look at the unconscious man, Tigerclaw decided his work here was done and retreated into shelter of the forest.

* * *

1 Year Later

Unknown Forest

"You just leave man unconscious?" a Russian voice questioned. "Isn't that- how you say it?- morally wrong?"

Tigerclaw shook his head. "There wasn't anything I could do but care for him myself and we both know what would happen if one of their kind saw one of ours."

"Da. But you must remember we were once both their kind, cat man."

"That it true, Rocksteady, that is true." Tigerclaw smiled at his companion.

The two sat on a particularly large stone. Tigerclaw had sought refuge from the hardships of urban area in this forest and had quickly run into another mutant doing the same. At first they had clashed but soon realized that it was pointless. They were just two mutants hiding from the world of humans.

They didn't live together, Tigerclaw prefered to sleep in trees while Rocksteady loved the forest floor, but they'd collaborate when one of them was trying to make something and they'd often share food and exchange stories like they were doing now.

In fact, they were doing all of those things right now. Between the two of them lay a leaf that held a branch covered in berries and behind them were the makings of a trap. Tigerclaw had a few traps lying around the forest and Rocksteady, thinking it was a good idea, was attempting to make some himself. Of course they told each other where they were but they often caught prey or an unsuspecting human.

"You know what happened to that man?" Rocksteady asked.

"No." Tigerclaw said. "But I assume he awoke, found that woman and buried her then rejoined his clanmates at another base."

Rocksteady nodded. "Japan is strange place. Clans and ninjas. Bah!"

Tigerclaw didn't say anything. He knew that the cultures of foreign places didn't rest well with everyone, himself included. When Rocksteady had explained the way Russia was when he was a child, Tigerclaw been shocked but to Rocksteady that was normal.

But normal was different for the two of them now and Tigerclaw was beginning to see the foolishness in clan rivalries. The day of the fire had been the last time he'd seen a clan. It was starting to seem like the last of the ninja clans were fading. Tigerclaw wasn't complaining. As much respect he had for ninjitsu, he'd never had a clan of his own and it seemed they were only trouble.

Tigerclaw looked to the sky. "It is getting dark my friend. I believe it is time for us to part."

"Da." Rocksteady agreed. "See you tomorrow comrade."

* * *

Tigerclaw was fast asleep in a tree when something triggered his senses.

Still almost fully asleep, Tigerclaw swiftly rolled of the branch and onto the ground landing in a crouch. He looked up into the tree to spot his attacker.

The surrounding trees were filled with men dressed in full black. The ninjas in Tigerclaw's sleeping tree held a large net between the three of them. They had clearly intended to catch him and were looking at him in surprise.

Tigerclaw's face twisted into an angry snarl. He drew his gun from his hip and fired a few laser shots at the three ninja. His attack was fast. Too fast for even ninjas to dodge. They dropped out of the tree like stones.

The instant they hit the ground, the other ninja leaped down and surrounding him. The fur on the back of Tigerclaw's neck rose, alerting him to an attacker from behind. Tigerclaw leaned forward to duck the swing of a sword. Blindly reaching behind him, his paw wrapped around the ninjas arm. He grabbed him and swung him forward, throwing him in the direction of the other ninja.

Those ninja were fast, they merely leaped over him. They use the momentum to rush forward. Tigerclaw dropped to the ground to let them sail right over them but they retaliated quickly. Instead of crashing due to missing their target, they pushed off the ground and back at Tigerclaw the second that their feet hit the ground.

Tigerclaw grunted as about four ninja unexpectedly hit him from behind. These ninjas were better than he thought. He fell forward but recovered quickly. He lashed out with his tail and landed a blow on one of the ninja behind him. He got back to his feet and crossed his arms to defend from an oncoming flurry of throwing stars.

There wasn't any fighting for a split second and Tigerclaw tried to identify the ninjas around him. At first, he didn't recognize him but he then noticed the clan symbol on the throwing stars that had fallen to the ground.

"You're the ones who burned down that house." Tigerclaw growled in realization. The symbol was the same one as the one on the clan banners.

None of the ninja responded, Tigerclaw knew they wouldn't. The ninjas began shifting position, still surrounding him, to confuse him.

A couple of the ninjas shot forward and Tigerclaw met them with swipes of clawed paws. The ninjas merely weaved around the attacks. Tigerclaw gave up on punching and kicked out. The attack landed on one of them and the ninja was sent flying.

While he did that, the other ninja in the ring with him came up from behind. Tigerclaw managed to move in time to only be hit by the flat of a blade rather than the sharp edge of a katana but the contact still hurt.

Tigerclaw whirled around to face the ninja. He hadn't fought ninjas in a long time, he'd forgotten how skill they are. Plus he was kind of rusty from living semi-alone in a forest for so long. He really needed to start training again.

"Get away from him or I will pop your head like the blueberry!" a voice rumbled through the battlefield. Everyone turned and saw a massive rhinoceros glaring them down. If his size and bulk was intimidating enough, his head was lowered as if he was going to charge and he held a hammer and sickle in each hand of bright gold color. His diamond eye caught the light of the rising sun.

The ninjas abandoned their circle around Tigerclaw and rushed Rocksteady. Rocksteady swung his hammer like a baseball bat and knocked away and ninjas leaping to attack.

Recovering from his surprise, Tigerclaw drew his laser gun again and began to pick off some of the ninjas while they were distracted.

One of the ninja suddenly rose a hand and gave a signal. Within seconds, the ninjas were gone and the fallen were picking themselves off the ground to join them.

"Goodie!" Rocksteady smiled and walked over to Tigerclaw.

"Yes, thank you for your assistance." Tigerclaw nodded.

"Da, no problem." Rocksteady responded. "Who were strange ninja?"

"I do not know their clan name but I believe I have met them before." Tigerclaw said.

"Really? Where?"

"You remember that story I told you the other day?"

"The one about those brain blob robots?"

Tigerclaw shook his head. "No, the fire."

"Oh." Rocksteady took a moment to think. "These ninjas same ninja that got house burned down?"

"No, they're the ones that burned that house down.

"That what I say."

"My apologies then." Tigerclaw blinked. While both spoke English fluently, it was neither mutant's first language and even a fluent speaker would have trouble understanding Rocksteady's broken English through that accent.

"Why they attack?"

Tigerclaw shrugged. "I am not sure, my friend. My best guess is that they have a base nearby and they encountered me by accident."

"Then why fight?"

Tigerclaw rose an eyebrow.

"Oh right. Mutant."

"We should move." Tigerclaw said. "The humans know we are here now, we mustn't remain here for longer than necessary."

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"I cannot force you to come with me but surely you must understand why we must leave."

"I not mean that." Rocksteady said. "That clan; you always speak of honor. That clan not have honor. They kill woman and almost kill man with fire and attack sleeping cat man. You say there is base near here."

"Are you suggesting I try to take out an entire clan on my own?" Tigerclaw questioned. He'd done it before, he'd told Rocksteady about it but he was aging and rusty in his skills and hadn't been training lately. He hadn't even been able to fight off this small group without help. He doubted that he'd be able to take out an entire clan right now.

"I be there too but no, that not what I mean." Rocksteady said. "At very least they have resources. You cat. Cats are sneaky. You really think they notice a few missing weapons, packets of food, books, water bottles or bars of soap?"

Tigerclaw sniffed himself and reeled back. His enhanced senses were not always a blessing. It had been years since he'd cleaned himself more than leaping into a lake or grooming himself with his tongue like a cat.

"You are wise beyond your years, Rocksteady."

"Bah. You forget how old I am sometimes, comrade." Rocksteady shrugged with a smile. "Now do not forget to get food and soap for me."

* * *

Tigerclaw was hiding in a shadow. He stood on a beam that ran across the ceiling. Below him, dozens of unmasked foot soldiers were enjoying a meal in the dining room. The smells of all the traditional Japanese food were making Tigerclaw's mouth water and his stomach growl but he tried his best to ignore it.

Tigerclaw had broke into the foot base hours ago but had made the mistake of wandering into his room. At the sound of footsteps, he'd leaped upward to hide but as more and more ninja entered the room, he realized he'd be there for a while.

Tigerclaw looked over what he'd found so far. Water bottles had been his priority. Out in the wild they had no way to carry water so they had to travel along rivers often or have to turn around if they went too far in one direction without running into another water source. Now maybe they would be able to travel better.

Second priority was to find something to carry everything in. He'd found a backpack fairly quickly. That's where he was currently holding the water bottles and what little food he'd been able to snag from the dining room before all the soldiers filed in.

Now all he had to find was soap and maybe grab some weapon and books if he found any but he didn't want to spend too much time in here. He'd once been caught by humans before. Twice actually. The first time they hadn't realized he was a mutant and wanted to skin him for his valuable tiger fur. The second time the humans had believed that he was some sort of demon spirit and tried to kill him. He did not want a repeat of that.

After what felt like an eternity, the soldiers began to leave the dining room. It took awhile for the last stragglers to leave but eventually the room was empty again. He waited for a cleaning person to come in but none did. He purred at his luck. He dropped down and quickly shoved some of the remaining food into his backpack then darted off to find a cleaning room.

Tigerclaw would think after seeing how messy those ninjas were that the cleaning room would be located close to the dining room but he followed his nose to the other side of the base.

Before he could wonder why, a horrible scent hit his nose. Whatever it was, it was clear there was a reason the cleaning stuff was located near it.

Tigerclaw pawed at his nose and once again cursed his enhanced sense of smell. He willed himself to start breathing through his mouth but was then painfully reminded that cats would taste things in the air.

"Gah!" Tigerclaw began gagging and snapped his mouth shut to keep himself from throwing up and getting any more of the taste in his mouth. He spat to get the taste out then wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.

Tigerclaw froze his actions when he heard movement in a nearby hall. Looking around, the ducked into the nearest door and found himself standing in a closet.

He thought he was in the clear but the doorknob suddenly turned. Tigerclaw scrambled around and eventually grabbed a sheet and pulled it over him and dropped to the ground. He prayed with every fiber of his being that the human didn't notice him.

The human, a woman judging by the sound of her voice, didn't. She seemed distracted and she was cursing like a sailor.

"Why do I have to clean up after it?" she muttered under her breath. "Stupid sisters… they're more than happy to join a clan and move out into the middle of nowhere to get good pay but not do any actual work. Should've listened to mother and gone with her to America. Then that stupid sister of mine would be the one stuck cleaning up this mess and I'd be living the life of my dreams."

Tigerclaw flicked his ear. He'd always wanted to go to America but that would be hard even if he was human. Rocksteady had gone once. It sounded strange but he really would've liked to see it for himself.

The woman spat more curses as she rummaged through the closet. "Why does Shredder insist we keep that retched waste of space? Normal soap doesn't even clean up its stink. Now where's that strong stuff?"

The woman continued to mutter to herself until she left the room. Tigerclaw sighed in relief and pushed the cover off of him. He folded it and set it alongside his other things in the bag. He looked around the room and happily realized this was a cleaning closet. He grabbed several bars of soap and even more bottles of shampoo for his fur and dumped them into his backpack. He grabbed a bottle of what the woman had called the strong stuff.

He took a whiff of it and was met with an overpowering smell. The term strong stuff was usually used to describe alcohol. This certainly wasn't alcohol but it had an even stronger smell. Tigerclaw tossed the bottle into the bag.

Tigerclaw was ready to leave, he had everything he needed. Anything else he got was a luxury. He was tempted to look for weapons or books but decided they were a liability due to their nomadic lifestyle.

But Tigerclaw still have immense curiosity to what that woman was talking about. Nothing she said made much sense but it sounded like she was talking about whatever the source of the stink was. Tigerclaw could hear the woman walking away and he decided he would allow himself a peak.

Tigerclaw walked out of the closet and looked around for another door. A strange sound caught his ear. He found a door and pushed it open. The sight within surprised him.

There in the center of the room, lying in a crib, was an infant. Tigerclaw looked around and found that the smell was coming from a trashcan in the corner of the room. The idiot humans were just leaving all that waste lying around.

Tigerclaw turned his attention back to the child. He looked into the crib and was met with a pair of eyes looking back. The child gurgled and pointed at him. Tigerclaw blinked.

The child was a female by the look of it. Tigerclaw leaned forward to get a better look.

He felt the human hand hit him across the face. He reeled back in surprise. The girl laughed. Tigerclaw let out a low chuckled of amusement. He picked up the girl in his big furry hands and held her up.

The girl laughed. Tigerclaw smiled at her. He got a warm feeling. Tigerclaw looked down at his arm and saw a liquid running down it.

"Disgusting!" Tigerclaw said and put the child back down. The child began to cry.

"No, no, no, no, don't do that." Tigerclaw tried to hush her but she kept crying. He heard footsteps. Tigerclaw glanced at the door, fearful that the woman would come in but no one entered. Tigerclaw felt anger burning in his chest but he pushed it down and turned his attention back to the child.

He picked her up again and held her against his chest. He'd had a younger sister once, he tried to remember what his own father had done with her.

Tigerclaw was startled when the word father struck his mind but he ignored that too. He began to bounce lightly. The child's cries began to fade. A purr rumbled in his chest. The child gave a shriek of excitement and pressed herself against his chest to feel the vibrations. She clapped. Tigerclaw purred louder.

Tigerclaw glanced at the lonely crib and the unsanitary surroundings. He remembered that no one had come to comfort her when she cried. He then remembered the face of the woman that had died in that fire.

Tigerclaw knew that he couldn't leave her there. He set the child back down in the crib and set his bag down. He pulled the sheet out and made a sling but instead of putting his arm in it, he lifted the girl and put her in there. The child smiled up at him. He smiled back.

He wondered if he could take the crib with him but decided that he was already holding too much. The sling would be good enough for a while.

"You must be quiet now, cub." Tigerclaw told her. The girl giggled and Tigerclaw hoped that that was childrens speak for yes. Tigerclaw slunk out of the room and ran through the hallways.

Tigerclaw made it outside without running into anyone else. He was fairly surprised judging by how long it took him to get in. It was late, maybe the ninjas were all asleep.

"What took you so long?" Rocksteady asked when Tigerclaw reached the top of the hill overlooking the foot base. The base wasn't all that impressive, just a big, square wood box surrounded by trees. Tigerclaw glanced back at it for a moment with about a million thoughts running through his mind.

"I… ran into some unexpected challenges." Tigerclaw told him. "I-"

"Do not care." Rocksteady interrupted. "What you get?"

"That's not important right now."

"What do you mean?"

Tigerclaw lowered his shoulder revealing the human child in the sling.

"You stole a child?!" Rocksteady bellowed.

"I didn't steal her." Tigerclaw said. He realized that was a lie the second the words left his mouth.

"Yes you did." Rocksteady told him. "You need to take that child back there right now."

"I can't."

"You can't?"

Tigerclaw told Rocksteady what it was like there and how that caretaker resented the infant. As Tigerclaw went on, Rocksteady watched the child and his heart began to melt.

"So what do you plan to do?" Rocksteady asked.

Tigerclaw paused before answering. He hadn't really thought of that. "Ideally I would find her parents if they're not in that clan or find another family for her, a human one, but I doubt that will happen."

"You want to raise her?" Rocksteady asked.

"I believe so."

"Count me in." Rocksteady said.

Tigerclaw looked at him in shock. "Really?"

"Da." Rocksteady nodded. "We are friends, are we not? There is no one else that can help you."

"Do you have any experience with children?" Tigerclaw asked.

"Of course, I had siblings in Russia." Rocksteady said. He held out his hands and Tigerclaw handed the girl over so he could hold her. "She is a beautiful child."

"She is." Tigerclaw nodded. Rocksteady held her up so he could get a better look. She squealed and kicked him in the face.

"Ow!" Rocksteady said more out of reflex than pain. "She is a fiesty one. What we call her?"

Tigerclaw thought for a moment. "Karai."

"Karai… I like." Rocksteady smiled. "You hear that girl? You name is Karai?"

The child squealed in delight. Rocksteady nuzzled her then set her back in Tigerclaw's sling. She fell asleep within seconds.

"I think she has right idea." Rocksteady yawned. "Let us find sleeping place for night. We can do something with Karai in morning."

* * *

Tigerclaw woke to the feeling of nothing against his chest. Startled, he shot awake and saw nothing in the sling. He looked over at Rocksteady and saw him asleep leaning against the same tree he was sleeping against.

"Karai?!" Tigerclaw called out in panic. He couldn't see her anywhere. How had she gotten away?

He heard a hiss above him. He looked up to see a white snake wrapped around the tree trunk.

Assuming the worst, Tigerclaw yanked the tree of of the tree with a roar. The snake sat in his paws but before he could sink his claws of teeth in, the impossible happened.

The snake coiled and shifted in his hands and within seconds, Karai was sitting in his hands looking up at him. She squealed and grabbed his whiskers.

Tigerclaw didn't care that she was pulling them too hard. He was staring at her wide eyed. He managed to to turn his head to look at Rocksteady. He wore an expression of equal shock. He'd seen the whole thing.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This was a long time coming. Took me forever.

I realized that Tigerclaw is actually Tiger Claw about halfway through writing this... I didn't know what to do but I like that spelling better even though its wrong. If it bothers any of you, I'll switch to the other spelling in the future.

I don't know what that stuff Tigerclaw said in Japanese means, I'm not Japanese nor do I speak it in Japanese. I read it in another story. I think kaimyō means sorry or goodbye and gomeifuku wo inorimasu is something said at a funeral but I really don't know.

I don't think Rocksteady had his hammer and sickle in any previous chapters or the original. Or his diamond eye. I forgot he had those. Whoops. Also btw Rocksteady's dialog is supposed to be like that. It looks weird if you don't read it in his voice. Remember, this is TMNT 2012.

This actually turned out much better than I planned hence it being twice as long as chapters usually are.

I had a dream where I got reviews. Not kidding. The sky was also green.


	12. Fishing Trip

How did Casey end up with Raphael, Slash and Fishface in the Andes?

* * *

7 Years Ago

South America

Fishface swam to shore with a fish in his jaws. His grip was loose. He didn't want to sink his teeth in and release his venom into it but his weak hold nearly made him drop it every few seconds for the entire swim. He didn't mind much. It was worth it.

Fishface crawled onto the land until his head was out of the water and stones dug into his belly but his gills remained underwater. He set the fish down and put a hand on it to keep the current from dragging it away. "Raphael, Slash, breakfast!"

Furthur in the cove, the excited shouts of a child followed by the slow rumbles of his guardian. Fishface smiled and tried to listen in on what they were saying. Raph had been with them for three years now and he was starting to grow up a bit. His voice had changed and he was less of a handful. Still a handful but at this point it didn't take both Slash and Fishface to keep him out of trouble.

Within a few seconds, Slash's head popped out of the cave high above ground level on the mountain. Raph sat on one of his shoulders. He hung on to one of the spikes sticking out of Slash's shell as the larger turtle began to slide down the mountain.

For what felt like the millionth time, Fishface gave thanks that he and Slash had found this place all those years ago. They'd already been living here by the time that Raph had come along but they were lucky nonetheless. Raising the young turtle would've been much more of a challenge without a home.

About half a mile across from the water, the Andes mountains began. The mountain closest to the water was small compared to the ones in the range behind it but it was still pretty tall. The water lead into a gravel beach. There was sand further along but not in their preferred area. The beach lead into rockier terrain as the land elevated and that eventually lead into the mountain where the cave that they slept in sat.

At this point, Slash and Raph had made it past the rocks and were on the gravel. Slash let the smaller turtle down and he ran across the beach to greet Fishface.

"Good morning Fishface!" Raph called with Slash close behind. "Catch anything good?"

"No idea." Fishface responded. Raph and Slash made it to the water and they sat down in front of Fishface. "It looks good though."

Slash pulled out a sharp rock and began carving up the fish into smaller pieces that they could eat. He lay out some leaves and put the chunks of fish on them before handing them around. Everyone held their food so it didn't float away or sink in the shallow water.

"Be careful of bones." Slash cautioned. Raph nodded while Fishface merely blinked in acknowledgement. The three began eating their meal of fish and plants.

"So, what are you two doing today?" Fishface asked. He shifted so his tail-like body lay more comfortably behind him. He never got used to his mutated form. It felt to unnatural. It was like he was a fish head on an eel's body with arms. It was all kinds of weird.

"We were going to go look for some trees." Raph told him through a mouthful of fish.

Slash nodded. "Yeah, I haven't gone South much, I'm hoping there some sort of forest or something. All the trees around here are no good for anything."

Fishface nodded and coughed as a bone got stuck in this throat. He took in a mouthful of water, swished it around, then spat it out behind him.

"Fishface!" Raph whined. He squirmed a bit. "That's gross!"

"Grosser things happen in the ocean." Slash told him but didn't go into detail. "What're you doing today, Xever?"

"Hunting." Fishface said.

"Again?"

"More like scouting." Fishface said. "I went father than I usually do the other day and I want to see if that area's any good for hunting grounds."

"Good luck with that." Slash told him.

"Good luck to you two too." Fishface nodded. "See you tonight?"

"Of course."

* * *

Fishface swiftly swam with his arms pressed to his sides and his tail flicking through the water. He passed by some smaller fish, none of them had the same speed and precision as he did.

He tried to find an underwater current to speed up his journey but the ocean was pretty calm today. Any other day he'd be happy but right now that was more of an inconvenience than anything though he didn't really mind that much. He had all day and it was only morning now. Besides, he enjoyed a good swim as much as anyone.

Fishface's mind began to wander as he jetted through the water. He briefly began to think about his old life as a human when a shape in the distance caught his attention and snapped him out of it.

"Sharks?" Fishface murmured to himself. He took a look around and his suspicions were confirmed. To his right, he could see the outline of a another shark. Fishface blinked in confusions. He didn't think he swam far enough to be in shark territory.

Fishface looked at the ocean floor and tried to spot something that would give him some sign of where he was. He spotted a familiar rock formation that confirmed that he was where he'd initially thought he was. There shouldn't be sharks here.

Fishface stopped swimming and reared back into his preferred upright position and tried to think of what to do. This spot was close to one of his regular hunting grounds. He always loved some competition but he had two other mouths to feed. This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all. These sharks had to get out.

But sharks were pretty much just big fish, right? The only difference other than their size was all their teeth and a few other minor traits like their fin structure and sense of smell. And shark meat was edible so…

Fishface swam to the bottom of the ocean and flattened himself against it so he could swim along the floor. Rocks occasionally brushed against his underside but he was still high enough to where it didn't matter.

Fishface swam towards the second shark he'd spotted. As he neared, he saw that it was circling some sort of fish that must've gotten separated from its school. Good. It was distracted. This was the first time he was doing something like this, he could use all the luck he could get.

Fishface considered splashing his tail against the ground to stir up some sand but he figured that would only grab the shark's attention. Instead, Fishface picked up a sharp stone from the floor and swam towards the shark as silently as possible.

The shark finally figured out how to maneuver to catch the lone fish it was hunting. It broke its circle, backed up then lunged, trapping the fish in its jaws. At this moment, Fishface struck.

Fishface nailed the shark with the stone. Blood flooded into the clear ocean water. The shark went limp and began falling but recovered and swam to loop around and attack.

Fishface suddenly felt something encompass him and before he knew it, he was being pulled out of the water.

"Merda!" Fishface swore as he flew through the air. He landed heavily on land. He felt his lungs begin to burn as he missed a breath. As he struggled, he realized he'd been trapped in a net.

"What the…?" a deep voice said as Fishface flailed. The mutant looked over to see a human man staring at him. He looked as surprised to see him and Fishface was to see him. They blinked at each other as if they believed the sight before them would vanish.

"Let me go!" Fishface hissed. The man stumbled back in shock and fell back on his butt. Fishface realized they were on a boat of some sorts. Probably a fishing boat or maybe a sharking boat judging by the fact that this guy was probably trying to catch that shark. Fishface had been caught by accident.

"You can talk?" the man said after a moment. Fishface didn't have enough air to respond. He just kept thrashing madly on the deck trying to get free of this accursed net or at least flop into the water where he could breathe.

Black spots filled Fishface's vision and his chest felt tight. His gills felt dry and weak. They gasped for air alongside his mouth.

After a minute he stopped trashing and clawed at the deck with his webbed fingers and tried to get off the boat and into the water.

"Help me…" he croaked with dehydrated words. The man just stared at him. Fishface stared back until his body went limp and his eyes rolled back as he blacked out.

The man finally worked up through his shock and got to his feet. Off the deck he grabbed a stick with a hooked end. He reached out tentatively and poked Fishface's side with the smooth side of the hook. He didn't move.

The man twisted the hook around so that the hook was facing upwards. He maneuvered it so it looped around the net and he pulled it off and tossed both the net and the hooked stick to the side.

The man walked over and cautiously poked Fishface with his shoe. Again Fishface didn't move. The man smiled and picked him up in both arms. He made a face of disgust as the damp fishy scales pressed against his chest but this was a big catch to be proud of.

The man carried the limp Fishface across the deck and over to a container. Grunting, he struggled to open the lid and hold Fishface at the same time.

Suddenly Fishface made a loud gurgling noise and his eyes snapped open. The man shouted in surprise. Fishface twisted his head around and sunk his teeth into the man's muscly shoulder.

The man screamed in pain and dropped the fish mutant. Fishface fell and hit the deck where he flopped like a fish on land. The man clutched his shoulder and glared at the dying fish.

With an angry scream, the man kicked Fishface. He went sailing over the side of the ship and fell into the water with a splash that soaked the deck.

Fishface's eyes snapped open at the impact of the water. Fishface began taking in huge gasps and clutched his side where he'd been kicked. Fishface sunk and hit the ocean floor but he didn't care. He just rejoiced in the ability to breathe.

After about ten minutes, a shark swam over and began circling him. Fishface decided he should get moving. Afterall, he still had hunting to do today.

* * *

"... and then I bit him and fell back into the water." Fishface concluded his tale. In his hand was a chunk of fish meat wrapped in a flat leaf. He shoved the whole handful into his mouth and wriggled his fins as it slid down his throat.

"Wow!" Raphael exclaimed. "Way to go Fishface!"

"Admirable." Slashed nodded.

"Thank you."

"One question though." Slash said. Fishface nodded for him to ask away. "How did you manage to bite that human without poisoning him?"

Fishface stiffened and his eyes widened. He buried his face into his hands. "Merda, I didn't think of that."

Slash leaned over and put his hand on his friend comfortingly. The three of them were sitting in the same formation along the shoreline as they had that morning during breakfast and for every meal.

"That guy was going to kill you and sell you to some chef or butcher who'd flay you up and serve you to some rich American or tourist." Slash pointed out. "It was a heat of the moment kind of decision. You didn't have a choice, you did what you had to do."

"You always have a choice." Raph's voice held more maturity then the young turtle actually had but Fishface didn't notice this. He ducked his head in shame.

Raph seemed to notice his error and quickly tried to comfort him and say that everything was alright but his words did little to soften the guilt and pain.

Fishface suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. He pushed his food towards his companions and backed up into the ocean slowly, his earlier excitement gone. "I'm going to take a swim, don't wait up for me."

Fishface didn't wait for a response, he just dove into the the water. It was night but the moon provided little light beneath the surface so Fishface just swam steadily in the dark though he still stuck close to the surface.

He hadn't realized where he was going until he smelled blood in the water. It was faint, far off but it alarmed him nonetheless. Fishface pressed his arms to his side so his form became more sleek and jetted through the water.

Fishface came upon what appeared to be a shark feeding frenzy. His concern faded and was replaced with mild disgust. Sharks were creatures of disgusting habits. He was about to turn away when one of the sharks turned on another causing it to swim back, giving Fishface a view of their feast.

Fishface only caught a glimpse but that was enough for him to identify what the sharks were eating. It was that human he'd bitten early. He must've leaned against the ledge of the deck or bent over it to hurl then the venom got to him and he fell overboard into the shark territory.

The sharks mostly clustered around the main mass which consisted of a torso and severed limbs. The surrounding water was stained with a cloud of red. Chunks of meat were floating around. The sharks snatched those up real fast.

Fishface was sickened slightly at the sight but he'd lived in the wild more than long enough accept that this was just the way thing were. Circle of life and all that.

As Fishface swam away, an idea crept into his mind and he switched direction.

* * *

Within an hour, Fishface found the fishing boat. It had drifted a bit from where Fishface had found it the first time but not by much.

Fishface reached out of the water and peer onto the deck. Right off the bat, he spotted the torn net and the hooked stick. There was also a big container, the one he almost got put in, which he was sure had some fish or maybe even sharks in it.

Beyond that was a door that lead to the ship's cramped living quarters. Fishface reached out farther to try and get a look but the second his gills went past the surface, Fishface dropped back down. He was not ready for a repeat of earlier.

Fishface swam a few laps around the boat as he tried to think about what to do. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up. A boat wasn't much use to him but Slash could probably scrap it and do something with the raw material. The fishing tools might be of some use to him too. And whatever luxuries that were in the ship's room could probably make that cave that Slash and Raph slept in a bit more comfortable.

Fishface decided he was going to do it. During all his lapping he noticed the boat's anchor. Well, not really an anchor. It was one of those big bucket things that filled up with water to slow a ship down. Fishface didn't remember what it was called.

The bucket rested close to the ocean floor, it was attached to the ship with a long chain. Fishface tried to gnaw at the chain but only hurt his mouth on the metal in doing so. He eyed the anchor and knew he had to get it out of the water and empty it somehow if he was going to pull this boat anywhere.

After struggling with it for a while, Fishface managed to get his hands around the bucket and push it up to the surface. This had taken several attempts, he'd never realized how heavy water was.

Fishface lifted the anchor over his head to empty the water. Water gushed down on him, the force almost made him drop the bucket and sink back down but he stayed swimming strong.

There was a hanger for a real anchor attached to the side of the boat. Fishface fastened the bucket anchor to it and looped the rope around a few times to shorten the length. Within a few minutes, Fishface had basically made a handle for his new "toy".

With an excited gleam in his eye, Fishface took the rope in hand and began swimming back towards the cove.

* * *

It was late at night when Fishface made it back to the cove. Or early morning. Fishface personally prefer the term late at night, Slash liked to say early in the morning. Back in the day the two had argued about it occasionally when they stayed up deep into the dark hours.

Fishface recalled those memories with fondness as he made it back towards their home with the boat dragging behind him. In the beach, he could see a giant turtle gazing out at the ocean with a smaller one standing beside him trying not to doze off.

Somehow, Fishface managed to approach them without them noticing.

"Thought I told you two not to wait up." Fishface called. His voice grabbed the attention of the two mutant turtles.

"What is that?" Raph asked staring at the boat, his earlier tiredness forgotten and replaced with excitment.

"It's that fishing boat I told you about a dinner." Fishface told him as he got as close to the land as he could. He unwrapped the rope from the hanger and freed the anchor. The bucket gathered water and hit the ground pretty quickly in the now shallow water.

"You kill a man and now you steal his stuff?" Slash questioned dryly. Fishface averted his gaze and Slash suddenly looked guilty. "Sorry, too soon."

"What kind of stuff's on it?" Raph asked with childlike excitement.

Fishface shrugged. "I don't know. Fishing stuff probably but there's a living space on it, I'm sure you two could find something in there."

Raph looked ready to jump on the ship but Slash stopped him.

"In the morning." Slash told him.

"It is morning." Raph pointed out.

"Late morning." Slash corrected himself. "We've been up forever and Xever just dragged this thing halfway across the Pacific, I'm sure he's tired too. We shouldn't look through the boat's cargo without him."

Raph nodded with understanding. "Alright. Goodnight Fishface. See ya tomorrow."

"G'night." Slash yawned.

"Later." Fishface waved as sleepiness overcame him. He didn't bother trying to find a sleep spot, he just waded until he was fully submerged in the shallow water and curled up into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Fishface woke to a heavy slash in the water but he was too tired to open his eyes and check it out until he heard the shouts of his friends a few minutes later.

Fishface surfaced so just his eyes and dorsal fin peered out of the water. He did not expect to see what he saw.

On the beach Slash stood protectively in front of Raphael using one hand to keep him back while Raph curiously peered out from behind him at the last thing Fishface thought he'd ever see in the cove.

A human boy. He stared up at Slash in wonder but he held a stick in his hands, ready to defend himself. Spotting the hook on the end, Fishface recognized it as the same tool that man had used to get the net off of him.

Fishface took a glance at the boat and it took only seconds for realization to hit him over the head.

"Slash! Wait, stop!" Fishface shouted across the cove. "Don't hurt him!"

Slash turned to look at him. "I wasn't planning on it…" he said in a slightly confused tone.

Raph stared at the human. "What is it?"

"What am I?" the boy questioned. He jabbed his finger out at the turtles then waved it back and forth between Fishface who was watching from the water and where the two mutant turtles were standing. "What the heck are you?"

Fishface suddenly realized that Raph had probably never seen a human other than the ones that had attacked his him three years ago. And he'd said they were all in costumes. The young turtle had never really seen a human before.

No one really knew what to say right now. There was a long pause of awkward silence.

"What's your name?" Fishface asked, breaking the silence.

"Casey Jones." the boy said. The boy turned his head to look at Fishface as he said that. Fishface saw familiarity in his face, he had the same face as the man Fishface had accidentally killed the day before. "Where am I? Did you guys find my boat and take to some 'land of misfit toys' type place where there are a bunch of talking animals instead of all those creepy toys like in the movie?"

"What? No!" Slash said.

"And don't insult that stupid movie! It brings joy to children everywhere." Fishface added sharply.

"We're mutants, by the way." Raph told him. "Not talking animals."

Slash bent over and whispered something to Raph that was probably along the lines of "that's what a mutant is". Raph glared at him and hissed something back.

"I am Xever." Fishface introduced.

"But we call him Fishface." Raph piped up before anyone could say anything else.

Casey laughed. "Good one, turtle."

"I'm Raph." Raph said.

"And my name's Slash." the larger turtle said. "So how'd you get here, Casey?"

Casey's grin and laughs faded and he scowled. "My folks made me come to some family vacation thing. We were staying at some fancy resort place and my dad wanted to take me out fishing on the boat. Not really my thing but I wasn't about to chicken out."

Raph and Slash nodded along with the story. Clearly they hadn't put two and two together. Fishface was tempted to swim away before they did but he knew better. He'd have to face the consequences of his wrongdoings eventually.

"So we were out fishing, right?" Casey continued. "I wasn't feeling too great, Dad told me to lie down. I guess I fell asleep. When I got up, I smelled this terrible smell and I went out onto the deck and there my dad was, dead on the ground. His shirt had this weird hole in it and he had these bite marks on him. I heard about crazy snakes in South America, I guess one of them got him."

Raph and Slash looked at Fishface. They knew he was that "crazy snake" that killed Casey's dad. They looked back to the human boy as he kept talking.

"So anyway, his body was smelling pretty bad so I had to push it off the boat and all these sharks swarmed us." Casey continued. "I tried to figure out how to get back but I didn't really know where I was or how to get back. I kinda fell asleep and I woke up here and ran into you guys."

"... I'm sorry." Raph said. "I lost my father too. And my brothers."

Fishface felt a thousand times worse. This Casey wasn't that much older than Raph, probably ten years old. He was twice the age Raph had been when he was taken from his family but that didn't make it any better. No child that young should go through that.

Fishface decided he had to come clean. He knew he had to take care of this kid, he was his responsibility and he couldn't do it with all that weight on his chest. And if the truth came out later…

"Merda, I can't believe I'm doing this." Fishface said quietly to himself then looked up. "Jones… Casey. I'm sorry. I was my venom that killed your father, not a snake."

Casey stared at him. "...what?"

Casey looked pissed. Fishface came clean and he'd come clean fast. Probably not the smartest thing. "I was out and I saw this shark… I thought I'd try my hand at catching it then I got caught in this net and dragged onto your boat. I couldn't breathe, I asked that guy- your father I presume- to throw me back but he just stared at me and I blacked out. When I came to, he was trying to shove me in this crate with a bunch of dead fish. I bit him. I didn't mean to poison him, I just… I was freaking out, I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't even realize what I did for a few hours. I know that's not an excuse, I'm sorry."

Casey silently stared at him with an angry expression. Fishface sighed and looked away. Suddenly Casey's expression dropped into a calmer one. "Don't worry about it, man."

"What?" Fishface looked up.

"I mean, it was totally your fault but it also wasn't. You were defending yourself. I'm pretty sure killing someone in self defense is legal." Casey told him. "He's like that Steve Erwin guy I saw on TV. He died poking a stingray or something. Of course I'll miss him but it sounds like it was his own fault he died."

Fishface relaxed and shot him a grateful look even though he was concerned for how accepting Casey was but he wasn't about to argue with forgiveness after he felt so bad.

"You didn't answer my question earlier." Casey said changing the subject to the surprise of the mutants. "Where the heck am I?"

"You're still in South America." Slash told him. He was a lot calmer, not as threatening. Raph walked out from behind him but he still didn't get too close to the human. "Ecuador or Peru, I think. I can't really tell. Somewhere on the West Coast around the Andes."

"This cove is our home." Raph said. "Slash and Fishface found it before they found me."

Casey nodded. "Sweet place."

"You're welcome to stay for a while." Fishface offered. "I don't think you alone on a boat in shark infested waters is a very good idea."

"Thanks." Casey said. Fishface was getting mixed signals from him. He couldn't tell if he was excited or if he really didn't want to be here and wanted to leave. Those two feelings were very different, Fishface was impressed the kid could have so many expressions on at once but then again, he probably hadn't seen a human in ten years. His reading skills were rusty and he wasn't that much of a feely person to start with.

"I could keep an eye out for search boats if you'd like." Fishface didn't think he'd be able to find this tourist resort Casey had mentioned.

"Would you?" Casey's eyes brightened a bit. "I'm sure my mom and sister are worried. I'd hate to think that they think me and Dad are goners…"

Fishface got that guilty feeling again. He was sure it would be a long time until it went away. Maybe it would even be around forever.

"Come on, Casey." Slash said and put a hand on Casey's shoulder to guide him. The boy flinched at the first touch of a mutant but calmed after a moment. "Let me show you where Raphael and I live. See you later Fishface?"

Fishface nodded. "Of course, go show the boy the cove."

"You're going to love it here." Raph said.

"You think?"

Raph nodded. "Yeah, it's great! And it'd be nice to have another kid around."

"I'm not a kid. I'm ten!" Casey said but didn't actually sound bothered.

"Whatever, Fishface says drinking age is eighteen in Peru and Ecuador." Raph told him. "He says that's when you officially can't be called a kid anymore, except by old people."

Slash sighed and turned to look back at Fishface. Fishface grinned and waved him off. Maybe having Casey around would be good for them.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I legit started writing this before the previous chapter. It took me three weeks to write this thing.

 _No one really knew what to say right now. There was a long pause of awkward silence_ \- This is what I write when I have no idea what to do. Deal with it.

In the TV show, Casey lost his dad twice and he wasn't super emotional about it, that's why he forgave Fishface so quickly. And Casey has a reputation as not exactly being 100% sane. Also the chapter was getting too long for me to write any drama and I just wanted to finish it.

I once saw the same fish die three times. It was insane.

BTW, these aren't in chronological order in case you haven't noticed. It may be kind of confusing if you didn't realize that. Pay attention to the part at the top, that tells you when the chapter takes place.

So school started again. That's (partially) why the update schedule is going to start being farther out. Also I want to work on other stuff.

Hope you enjoyed. Do you guys like these longer chapters or the normal length? This chapter and the last one just kinda ended up like this, it wasn't intentional.

I know I always say this but reviews would be appreciated. I got stuck on the chapter I'm currently writing, I'm thinking about switching to another one. I'd like some ideas. I'm realizing that this story may not make a lot of sense unless you were really invested in Four Corners of the Earth but that story wasn't the best. I read it again, it wasn't as bad as I thought but this story is still better.


	13. Escape

What happened to Splinter after the Shredder stole his sons? Takes place after the first chapter in the original story.

* * *

10 Years Ago

New York

"No!" Splinter screamed. "Don't take them! Please!"

Splinter struggled against the dozens of foot soldiers pinning him down as four of the remaining ninjas reached out and grabbed turtles.

Donatello was unconscious after Shredder had kicked him across the room but his brothers were awake and they were terrified.

"Get away from me!" Raphael yelled and tried to strike the ninja reaching for him. The blow landed and the ninja reeled back but another ninja merely grabbed him from behind. The ninja held him by the shell, Raphael couldn't twist that way and he was left struggling against nothing. "Let me go!"

Leonardo pushed Michelangelo behind him and tried to defend him but they were soon cornered and they two of them were picked up pretty easily then flipped around so they were held the same way Raphael was.

"Splinter!" Michelangelo moaned through his tears. Leonardo and Raphael's eyes fell on him as well. Tears slipped out though not quite as intensely their youngest brother.

"My sons." Splinter gasped out. The weight holding him down was starting to take its toll, Splinter was having trouble breathing. It felt like his chest was being crushed. "Saki! Let them go! They have done nothing to you!"

"They have done everything to me!" Shredder roared. "They have brought joy to the heart of my most hated enemy! Their suffering will only bring greater suffering to you, rat! You shall perish knowing that you are too weak and pathetic to save them!"

"What happened to you, Saki?" Splinter whispered but his attention was stolen from that thought by the screams of his sons.

"Father!" Leonardo cried out.

"Let him go!" Raphael yelled. "Stop hurting our Father!"

"Don't let them take us Dad!" Michelangelo sobbed.

Donatello said nothing but the bruises from the attack that knocked him out spoke more words than the turtle could if he was conscious and that was saying something. The second youngest turtle had an immense vocabulary.

Tears leaked out of Splinter's eye, staining his face like his sons.

"Foot ninja, gather these turtles and dispose of them." Shredder said. "The rest of you, try up the rat. I have plans for him."

When the weight came off of his back, Splinter lunged to his sons but the soldier held a firm grip on him. He tried to fight them but he wasn't strong enough.

"Splinter!"

"Father!"

"Dad!"

Silence.

The three turtles tried to fight their captures to no avail. After a few seconds, they gave up and looked helplessly at their father.

"My sons." Splinter said as he realized that in a minute he'd never see them again. "Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello. I love you, never forget that. Stay together, look after each other, survive. Please. Promise me that."

"Hai Sensei."

"Of course, Master Splinter."

"We will."

Silence.

"Heartwarming." Shredder said without emotion. "Hurry it up, foot soldiers."

The three turtles screamed as the four of them were taken away. Splinter couldn't make out their words but it was still painful. He shut his eyes and turned his head but he forced himself to look back. The least he could do for them was watch.

"No!" Splinter yelled. The four turtles he'd loved for the past five years were carried away into the sewers that he'd thought would protect them but now it was clear he'd been wrong. His greatest fear had come true.

Splinter turned on the Shredder. "How dare you! You took everything from me and I found happiness again and you took it again! I am ashamed to have ever call you my friend, Saki!"

"I would say the same, rat, but you are not the same man Hamato Yoshi was." Shredder growled. "Look at you. Hamato Yoshi was strong and proud, you are weak and broken."

* * *

1 Year Later

"Saki!" Splinter screamed out as he bolted awake. His fur was wet and uncomfortable against his skin with a cold sweat. He'd been dreaming. No, he'd been having a nightmare. Or nightmaring as his youngest son used to call it.

Splinter felt a familiar pang as he remembered his sons. Not a day went by where he didn't feel their loss. Actually, not a day went by where he did not feel it dozens upon dozens of times a day. He'd lost everything.

In Japan, Oroku Saki had taken his wife, his daughter, his home, his clan, his pride, his name, everything.

Or so he thought.

In New York, he had truly taken everything.

As if that wasn't enough, the Shredder continued to punish Splinter. He seemed thoroughly amused that the great Hamato Yoshi was now a lowly rat hence his living space.

Splinter lived in what resembled a rat cage only on a large scale complete with pellet bedding, a running wheel, and one of those strange watering devices.

Splinter sighed and got up. He lapped at the nozzle of the water device. He learned long ago that trying to dehydrate himself to death was pointless. The Shredder or one of his underlings always forced him to drink. The same went for food though originally it has not been intentional.

When he'd first arrived in his horrid cage, Splinter was angry. Then he was sad and quickly slipped into depression causing a loss of appetite but the Shredder refused to let him die. He wanted him to suffer.

Splinter did not know how much time had passed since that horrible day where he lost everything but it had been long enough for his depression and anger to pass. Now he just felt hollow and lost. He had no purpose and he'd lost everything. No, it had been stolen. he reminded himself of that often but it didn't help the numbness.

It had become clear early on that ninjitsu was not something he could use as a pastime. The Shredder seemed to want to just keep Splinter around as a giant pet. Unless of course he wanted someone to take his anger out on or practice the harshest of battle moves and breaking techniques on. Then he was more than happy to treat him like a man but unfortunately not all men treated men like men. The Shredder seemed to get a kick out of torture.

Splinter wasn't to act like a human but there wasn't anything that they could do to keep him from standing like a man, save perhaps chaining weights to him but they never did that for whatever reason. At least he had that. He'd found a few other loopholes and tricks too.

He spent a lot of time meditating while pretending to sleep. The Astral Plane was a safe place. It was kind and welcoming.

While he couldn't practice ninjutsu, that didn't mean he couldn't keep in shape. The wheel was really the only thing he was able to do but it was better than nothing.

So Splinter's life in a cage became a cycle of running, sleeping, pretending to sleep, meditating, eating, drinking and occasionally being taken off to be tortured by Shredder. All the repetition and animal-like treatment was driving Splinter mad but he was still determined to not let his former friend win after all he'd done.

Splinter stopped drinking and wiped his mouth and looked around his cage. He'd just woken up so he probably couldn't get away with meditating. So running it was. Unenthusiastically, Splinter climbed up onto the wheel and began running.

After awhile he dropped onto all fours in an effort to exercise his arms as well.

His exercise was distracted by a tapping on the glass of his cage. Splinter looked over from his running to the one clear wall of the cage. The tapper looked it on him.

It was a thin african american man in a pink shirt. Dexter Stockboy or something. He was a hired scientist of the Foot. The Shredder had tasked him with harboring Splinter.

"Dexter Stockboy." Splinter said as he spotted him.

"Its Baxter Stockman you freak!" Stockman yelled. Splinter rolled his eyes. "Now keep quiet, you rat. I need a DNA sample."

"Oh, what for?" Splinter asked.

"Your DNA is quite peculiar. I could tell from a small quantity I was able to amass from your waste and hair I gathered after cleaning your cage. The way that the genetic code of human and animal bond to one another is awesome." Stockman didn't seem to care that it was Splinter he was talking to. He was just glad to have someone to talk to. Splinter usually just tuned him out but he wasn't able to today. He wished more now than any other time that he could. This was disgusting. "There is unlimited genetic potential locked in just that bond. It's a shame I only have one subject. I wish I had a couple of those turtles to work with."

"Do not speak of them!" Splinter snapped.

Stockman rose an eyebrow and looked at him through his glasses. "Oh, you don't like that, do you?"

Splinter let out a feral hiss and lunged. He hit the glass barrier and pounded against it. Stockman shrieked and ran to hide before realizing that there was nothing Splinter could do to him.

"Ha! You can't get me!" he taunted.

"You are dishonorable." Splinter told him. "You prey on those who cannot fight back but you act cowardly when they can."

"Quiet!" Stockman said. He grabbed a syringe off his table. "I don't want you moving around and messing up the sample before I can study it."

Splinter rolled his eyes and sat back agianst the glass as Stockman opened up a panel on his cage to reach in with syringe in hand. He jammed it into his neck.

Instinct suddenly consumed the rat's mind. He pulled away and clamped his jaws down on the arm that was jabbing the needle into him.

Stockman screamed and pulled his arm back. Splinter saw his chance. The opening in the cage wasn't big enough to get out of but Splinter could reach one of his long arms out. One of his hands clasped around Stockman's shirt.

"You will let me out of here." Splinter stated. Stockman was paralyzed in fear. The rat scared him enough to where he didn't need to threaten him. Stockman nodded quickly after a moment. Splinter released him but not after tearing a hole in his shirt with his claws.

"Hey! That was my favorite shirt!"

He got a snarky hiss in response. Stockman yelped and made his way over to the computers on the other side of the room. He hit some buttons and the glass wall of the cage lifted and retracted into the ceiling.

"That was surprisingly easy." Splinter quietly said to himself.

"Don't think that." Stockman said, his cowardliness gone. "The Shredder and the rest of the-"

Splinter cut him off with another hiss. He picked up the nearest object the could grab- a microscope- and hurled it across the room at the scientist. Stockman screamed and was hit in the head. He collapsed awkwardly in a heap. Splinter gave a small smile. He'd been wanting to do that for a while.

Wasting no time, Splinter ran away from the lab and into hallways of what he could only assume was a Foot Base. Part of him hoped that his sons were here but the logical side of his knew that the Shredder had already disposed of them as promised. Besides, it they were here he would've been able to sense them through his meditation by now.

Splinter didn't know where he was going but he tried aiming in the same general direction each time he turned. Run one way far enough and hit a wall and walls had doors. One of them would lead out of this place that had brought him nothing but pain.

Splinter had been running for awhile when an alarm went off. It seemed Stockman had woken up from his little nap but Splinter wasn't worried. He knew he'd gotten pretty far. He'd just have to deal with an army of foot soldiers. No way Shredder would make it to him before he made it out.

Splinter found a door and burst into a room filled with foot soldiers. It appeared to be a recreational room. There were several small groups of foot soldiers dressed in uniform playing cards, talking, or showing each other battle moves.

All heads turned when Splinter appeared. All hands reached for weapons. All soldiers got to their feet.

"What is that thing?" one soldier asked.

"Master Shredder's pet rat." another told him. Splinter recognized his voice.

"You know very well who I am, you monster!" Splinter spat. "You held me down while your companions stole my sons!"

Splinter let out and angry scream and flew across the room. Rage flowed through his body and fueled his motions. The feeling of heat shot to his hands and he grabbed his target around the throat before he realized what was happening.

Splinter's other hand was filled with the same heat but he was struck over the head by a sword before he could attack again. Splinter rolled with the blow and was standing steady within seconds. His attacker and his former target stared at him in shock and fear.

He lunged at the two ninja but they leaped back and dodged. Splinter knew he wasn't focused. He tried to calm himself. Splinter's breath felt strange in his chest. If he had the time, he would have paused to cough.

A ninja tried to sneak up behind him but he took him out with a lash of his tail. The ninja fell on his face ungracefully. With another whip, he swept him aside so he wouldn't trip over him.

All the ninjas leaped at him. Splinter weaved around the attacks as if he were in slow motion then stepped aside and watched the ninjas stumble as they all missed their targets.

Before they could recover, Splinter moved forward and struck each and every one of them with rage powered blows. He felt the satisfying feeling of bones cracking beneath his fists with every strike.

Splinter stood over the fallen ninja. Most of them were clutching their wounds or groaning in pain. Part of Splinter felt bad for causing such injury but he pushed it away. They deserved it for allying themselves with a man who would take children from their father.

Splinter walked calmly out of the rec room but soon broke into a run. He'd run into more soldiers sooner or later, the faster he went the less likely it was that he'd run into them.

In the hallways, Splinter only ran into a few straggling soldiers, no large groups. Eventually, he made it to a hallway with a wall made of glass windows. He knew it was here that he'd have to make a break for it. Splinter ran up to the window and hit it hard. There was no technique in the act, he was still had that raging power coursing through him.

The glass shattered. Millions of little shards rained down on him giving him a million little cuts all over his body but he couldn't feel the pain through the rush he was getting.

Splinter jumped out of the hole in the window and dropped down about a story onto the street. He looked up and saw humans staring at him. His ears flattened as screams broke out. Splinter began to run.

After several hours of being chased by police and animal control, Splinter was exhausted despite all the cardio he'd been working on in that cage. His ears and nose twitched, trying to listen for his pursuers but he heard nothing.

Wandering into an alleyway, Splinter collapsed next to a garbage can and fell into a deep sleep dreaming of a world where Tang Shen, Miwa, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo all were together with him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** It feels like I wrote this such a long time ago.

I wrote this in three sessions. The first one I was depressed, the second I was really angry, and the third I just wanted to finish it so I wrote four paragraphs and called it done. I don't think that's the best writing strategy but it worked. Can you tell? Nothing's actually wrong, I just had a couple of bad days last week when I wrote this.

I've been wondering if these actually make sense. The original came out a while ago, do you guys actually remember how these chapters connect to the original story? Do these make sense? They're not in chronological order but do you have a general idea when they're happening and why?


	14. Henchmutants Part 1

What happened after Splinter escaped from his cage in the Shredder's lair? What happened to Stockman when the Shredder found out Splinter escaped?

(Takes place directly after Escape)

* * *

9 Years Ago

New York

Splinter woke up with a kink in his neck. He groaned and blinked heavily. The trail of drool leaking from his mouth to his bare chest snapped as head lifted. He wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist in disgust and spat a wad off to the side.

Splinter was leaning against a wall with a trash can directly at his side. A foul stench filled his nose. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to fall asleep next to something so unclean but last night he'd been too tired to think about it.

Last night. Right. Splinter was surprised to find himself in the dirty alleyway rather than that horrible rat's cage he'd spent his life in since the loss of his sons.

Splinter felt the loss even more strongly but tried to push past it. He needed to stay alive long enough to look for them if they were still alive. Splinter tried not to think like that but he knew it was the most likely possibility.

Splinter spotted a manhole cover and felt an urge to lift it and race through the sewers back to his home but he knew that location was compromised. His former friend, the Shredder, surely was already searching for him there. It would be awhile until he was able to return.

Splinter's sharp ears heard something rustle in the wind. He got to is feet and peered over to the other side of the trashcan. A human man was lying on a pile of newspapers just on the other side.

The feeling of panic began to form in Splinter's chest. He couldn't believe that he'd been careless enough to fall asleep within two feet of the very thing he was hiding from. No, he was hiding from the Shredder but humans were his next greatest fear.

With close inspection, Splinter found that the human was asleep. Using the skills of the ninja that he was, Splinter slipped past him and into the shadows of New York.

* * *

"Um… Master Shredder?" a small skinny man his behind a door and nervously looked into a large dark room. The room had a glass floor with a solid walkway stretching through the middle of it. The walkway lead from the door where the man was to a throne sitting atop a series of stairs.

"What is it?" the man in the throne asked. Next to him stood a massive man holding a spear. The man rose his weapon but calmed at the wave of the Shredder's hand. "At ease, Terminator. It is only Stockman."

The Terminator dipped his head and turned to Stockman. "Speak. The Master does not have all day."

Stockman was sure that wasn't true but he wasn't about to let his doubts get him cut or stabbed. Scratch that, he knew the news he had to deliver was going to get him killed.

"Sir… the rat?" Stockman started.

"Hamato Yoshi, what about him?" Shredder questioned. "Did that fool get sick?"

"No, no sir." Stockman said as nervously and quietly as ever. "He- he may have…"

"What was that?" the Terminator snapped. "Speak up, talk slower. We're not bats."

"The rat." Stockman said louder. "He escaped."

"What?!" the Shredder got to his feet. Up on the stairs before his throne, he towered over Stockman intimidatingly. Stockman gulped and whimpered as he unconsciously shrank back in fear. "You let my most hated enemy escape?"

"Sir, he- he-"

"Silence!" the Shredder snapped. He had more rage in his voice than any of the people present had ever heard from him or anyone else. The Terminator had been at his side for years and Stockman messed up a lot so that was saying something.

The Shredder walked towards Stockman. His metal boots clanged and echoed each time they made contact with one of the steps. Stockman took a few small steps back but knew he couldn't escape. The Shredder grabbed him by the front of the shirt. Surprisingly, he didn't just kill him right there.

"Find him." the Shredder said calmly but not without a cool fury that made Stockman tremble.

"How?" Stockman asked then clamped his mouth shut at his boldness. The Shredder looked even more pissed than before. His other hand rose but the Terminator interrupted.

"He goes have a point, Master." the Terminator pointed out. He took a few steps down from his place next to the throne. "Hamato Yoshi is a trained ninja and his… difference makes him an even slippier one. And this Stockman is weak and would be defeated by the streets before he even got close to the rat."

"True." the Shredder mused. He released Stockman's shirt. Stockman released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding but unfortunately breathed right into the Shredder's armor. The shining metal fogged. The Shredder glared but said nothing about it. Stockman was tempted to wipe it but he didn't. "Terminator, see to the rat's capture and Stockman. Snake and Antonio are at your disposal, as always, they know the streets well. Stockman, have you figured out what turned Hamato Yoshi into that rat?"

"No, sir, but I'm close." Stockman insisted with a firm, confident nod.

"Continue your work then. And inform the search party of everything you know about the rat." Shredder said. "And pray that your friends him."

"They're not really my friends, I've never really spoken to them and-" Stockman was silenced by another glare from the Shredder. "Of course, Master Shredder. I thank you for your… mercy."

* * *

Splinter was crouched on a rooftop looking down at the streets. The moon looked down upon him in the night sky and he looked right back. He was suddenly distracted by the rumbling of his belly. In the week that he'd been free, he'd eaten little more than rotten scraps that he'd found trash cans and his stomach was now yowling for real food after getting used to being fed pellets twice a day for the past year. Or so he figured, he still hadn't figured out how long it had been. Probably a year, give or take a few months.

Splinter's nose twitched as he smelled a delicious smell wafting through the air. It took him a moment to identify it, he hadn't smelled it in so long but a rat could never forget the smell of cheese. His watering mouth only encouraged his stomach to complain even louder.

"Hush." he told it looking down.

Scanning the street beneath him like a hawk, Splinter spotted a small restaurant on a corner across the street. It didn't seem like there were any customers right now. Splinter gave a small smile and dropped off the roof into an alleyway.

Splinter drew the cloak he'd recently found over his head. He reached back and grabbed his tail, pulling it into the cloak with the rest of his body. Using his skinny hands, he wrapped it tightly around his body and shoved his hands into his pockets. He tried pulling the hood further over his head but try as he might, he couldn't cover his long snout. He choose to ignore it, hopefully no one looked too closely.

Splinter stepped out of the alley and into the streetlight. He froze and looked around. No one was looking at him. Splinter sighed in relief.

Splinter began making his way towards the restaurant. He lowered his head and the passing people didn't seem to notice him.

As Splinter got closer to the restaurant, Splinter could see it was called Antonio's. It looked Italian. Within his cloak, Splinter's tail curled in delight. The Italians loved their cheese almost as much as rats did.

Splinter crossed the street and looped around the building to the back. He was just about to reach to open the door he'd found when the knob turned. Splinter's eyes widened in alarm and he instinctively dove behind a bag of trash with great speed. New Yorkers and their trash, the backways and alleys were filled with it.

A man stepped out of the restaurant through the door and into the backway. Splinter couldn't believe his luck. If he'd opened the door and come face to face with that man… oh boy, he didn't know what he'd do. Now he didn't have to worry about running into any humans since the man was leaving.

A second after that thought crossed Splinter's mind, the man stopped walking and Splinter cursed himself. He knew better than to expect his luck was good. The man- whom he presumed was Antonio- stood in the backway as if he were waiting.

Another set of footsteps approached. Splinter was tempted to look out from his hiding place but didn't for obvious reasons. Soon, another man was facing Antonio.

"You're late, Snake." Antonio said putting his hands on his hips, frowning. The other man shrugged.

The two looked nothing alike. Antonio wore an apron and chef hat. His hair looked well taken care of and he had a softness to him like many chefs did after years of sampling their own cooking. He was still well built but if you weren't looking for it, all that muscle was invisible.

Snake on the other hand was skinny as could be. He did have a bit of muscle on the bone but he wasn't anywhere close to being considered a muscular person even compared to Antonio. His shaggy hair looked dirty and he wore a hang top with stains on it.

Splinter couldn't fathom why these two were meeting and he honestly did not care. He just hoped they'd finish whatever they were doing or better yet, go somewhere else to do it, so he could leave his hiding place behind the stinking trash and raid the restaurant's kitchen.

"Do you have anything to report?" Snake asked.

Antonio snorted. "The boss is sending you to gather the reports?"

Snake glared. "Seeing as number two is in charge of this mess, you shouldn't be surprised."

"Stockman is a fool." Antonio spat. Those words made Splinter's blood ran cold. These two knew Stockman? "How do you lose a lab rat?"

Snake shrugged. "The Terminator said the Shredder had a special interest in this one."

"His name is Master Shredder." Antonio corrected and looked around nervously. Splinter bent his body into a painful position to hide himself better. "You never know when he's got those freaky ninjas lurking around."

"Bah." Snake grunted. "You've got nothing to worry about. Get on with the report."

"Nothing to report. I see plenty of rats." Antonio responded. "The Terminator needs to be more specific than 'its a rat' and 'it lives in the sewer'. There are millions of rats in the sewer, what do they expect of us?"

"Stockman says its big and you'll know it when you see it." Snake said weakly but it was clear he had the same mindset as Antonio. "And the Terminator has foot soldiers searching the sewers. They haven't found anything, by the way."

"Well then I haven't seen it either and I really don't care what all this fuss is about." Antonio said. "Tell the Terminator to only contact me if it's something important. I have a restaurant to run, you know."

Snake's gaze flicked to the empty restaurant but said nothing. He gave a brief wave and turned away.

Antonio didn't waste time watching him leave. Muttering to himself, he went back to his restaurant.

After a few minutes of waiting for safety, Splinter relaxed and slunk out of his hiding place. He used his clawed hands to slice open the garbage bag he was hiding behind. Discarded food tumbled out onto the ground. Not wanting to sneak into the restaurant yet still wanting to quiet his grumbling stomach, Splinter snatched up some pizza crusts and held them against his chest as he leaped back to the rooftops.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for not uploading lately. I wrote this (and the other parts to Henchmutants) awhile ago but I kept getting home really late. I also had a ridiculous amount of school work to do. I will continue to have the same ridiculous amount for a while but I'm going to start prioritizing this in my free time.

There's a new oneshot up on my account. Go check it out. Its called Funeral Fight. I don't really like writing stand alone oneshots but it was a request. I don't think I'm going to take story requests but if anyone has any ideas for this story or would like to work with me on this, I'm open to that. I've got some ideas myself but I haven't really had the inspiration to write them.

The Terminator is not an OC. I don't like OCs. You'll find out which character he is soon enough if you haven't realized yet. If you don't know who Snake and Antonio are, that'll become clear soon too. Hint: this chapter isn't called Henchmutatns for nothing. If you can't wait, go back to the chapter called Shredder in the original story.


	15. Henchmutants Part 2

Splinter is being hunted by the Foot and cannot return home. The Terminator is looking for him.

* * *

9 Years Ago

New York

Splinter sat on a rooftop nibbling at the pizza crusts he'd stolen from a trash bag. They still had the scent of cheese on them, taunting his rat nose, but he didn't really care about his lack of a proper meal night now.

He'd just overheard a conversation between two of the Shredder's underlings. The Foot Clan was looking for him on the surface and in the sewers. If life as a mutant wasn't already hard, Splinter knew this just got a thousand times worse.

He didn't think that was possible. The loss of his sons was still painful. When he'd escaped, he knew he'd still have that pain but he hadn't imagined that he wasn't able to return to their home.

Maybe he should've waited to escape. Spent some time thinking things through, making a plan. No, it was unlikely he would've gotten another opportunity like that. Or maybe that wasn't true but he'd never know but he knew better than to dwell on it.

The sewers were disgusting, Splinter knew better than anyone after living in them for five years. Surely the Shredder would give up his search eventually and Splinter could go back under. He just would have to be careful in case they ever looked there again.

Splinter wasn't sure if he even wanted to go back home. He didn't know if he could face it without his sons. But with a safe place to rest and hang his cloak, he could start looking for them.

But in the meantime, he needed to find somewhere to stay. He didn't trust any humans in New York so he knew it was likely he would spend many more nights next to trash cans in alleyways.

With a sigh, Splinter dropped down from the rooftop and began looking for a spot to spend the night.

* * *

"Report." the Shredder's voice was hard and cold. Stockman trembled nervously at the foot of this throne holding a device in his thin hands. The Terminator was at the Shredder's side as always and glaring down at the shorter man before him.

"I think I've figured out what turned Hamato Yoshi." Stockman said. The Shredder rose and eyebrow, prompting him, but the view was obstructed by his helmet. "He was exposed to a substance that caused his human DNA to merge with the DNA of the most recent he was exposed to."

"That is all you have?" Shredder growled. Stockman shrank back.

"N-no sir." Stockman stuttered. He held up the device in his hands partially as a shield and partially to show his master. "I've created this to track it."

"Could it locate the rat?" Shredder asked.

"No." Stockman said. The Shredder growled. "B-but I might be able to upgrade it but it's a longshot. From what I gathered from studying the rat's DNA, there is barely more than a trace of it in his system now. I mean, it's still completely there but not very concentrated and its faded. The scanner would have trouble pinpointing it and it would be misdirected by a larger source, if there is one."

The Shredder put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "This substance can change humans?"

"Mutate them, yes." Stockman nodded.

"You say that exposure to this substance is all that is necessary to mutant someone?"

"Well, they'd need to be in contact with another species first, I think." Stockman said. "But essentially yes, it seems pretty simple."

The Shredder gave a hum of thought. "Terminator, take Stockman's device and see to locating more of this substance for… study if there is more in New York."

"Yes Master." the Terminator bowed. "Permission to see to this personally?"

"If you please." the Shredder spoke. "Make sure the street thugs look for the rat. You are dismissed."

* * *

The Terminator walked down the street with scanner in hand following little red blips on the screen.

The Terminator was a large man, he dwarfed the average person and he was made of pure muscle. He'd once been a rogue bounty hunter but had been taken in by the Foot and rose in ranks until he became the Shredder's right hand man. Quite literally, he was at his side at almost all times.

It had been awhile since he'd done any tracking but he was still pretty good with a scanner. He followed the flashes and beeps of Stockman's device to what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse but the Terminator knew better than to let his guard down.

The Terminator slunk close to the building and drew a grappling hook. He spun it a few times then tossed it up to catch the ledge on the roof of the building and climbed up to the window rather than using the front door.

He sliced the window open and slipped in. As he did that, the scanner went wild.

The Terminator cursed the device and tried to silence it but he knew it was too late.

"That which is known as an intruder is at the place known as here."

The Terminator looked up from his efforts to see a small army of robots rushing in.

"Kraang commands you to halt."

"Tell Kraang the Terminator listens to no one." the Terminator snarled. He drew two blasters from the holsters on his thighs and began to shoot at the robots.

"Kraang fire!"

The robots drew their own guns and began to retaliate with their own shots.

The Terminator quickly realized they were terrible shots. He dropped down from the window where he was an easy target and sidestepped a blast meant for him before rushing forward.

The Terminator dropped his gun and boxed one of the robots in the face. The Kraang was sent flying. The Terminator looked at his fist and smiled at the brass knuckles he was wearing. He returned his other gun to his holster and slipped on another pair. He grinded his fists together and got the satisfying feeling of power flush through him.

"Anyone else want some?" he asked cockily. The Kraang began firing again.

The Terminator rushed them again and swung his fists out. The first blow knocked the Kraang's head clean off. The body collapsed and a pink blob jumped out of its chest.

"That's disgusting." the Terminator said as he watched it squeal away but didn't dwell on it. He had a fight to focus on.

These Kraang weren't exactly worthy opponents for the foot member. Between his guns and brass knuckles, he took them out pretty easily. Most of them didn't even require more than one hit. And the Kraang couldn't even land a shot on him.

"Retreat!"

"That's right, run." the Terminator called after the fleeing robots and brain blobs. Several damaged robot bodies remained behind. They looked pretty advanced, the Shredder could probably find some use for them but that wasn't what he was here for.

He turned the volume back up on the scanner now that there weren't any threats around.

He followed the scanner's guidance deeper into the warehouse. It wasn't all that big, the found the central room within minutes.

"Mother of mutagen." the Terminator whistled as he gazed upon a huge vat of the glowing green liquid. He looked around and saw that there were no Kraang in the room either.

A pipe ran out of the vat into what appeared to be a drainage system. Nearby, there were smaller canisters filled with the stuff.

The Terminator picked one up and held it up. He tilted it around, trying to get an idea of what the stuff was. Surely Stockman would know. With that last thought, the Terminator grabbed another canister and headed back to base.

* * *

Splinter shivered in the cold. He wrapped his cloak closer to himself and pulled his arms into his sleeves. What he wouldn't give to be back in his warm home rather than this freezing junk yard.

He sat curled up beside a pile of scrap and discarded furniture. When he'd arrived Splinter had tried looking through the waste for anything useful but the night air made him to cold and tired to continue.

Splinter began slipping into sleep when he heard human voices.

"Dad, it's freezing." a young voice complained. "Why are we here in the middle of the night?"

Splinter jerked awake and compacted himself behind the pile of junk he was sleeping against.

"Sweetie, I'm just going to look around for a piece of equipment I need for a device I'm building." an older voice said. "We're not going to spend all night looking for it, I'm just going to see if this junk yard has a lot of machinery then we'll leave, I promise."

"Alright, Dad."

Splinter got to his feet and peered over the junk pile he was ducking behind. He saw a man around his own age with a girl that had to be six or seven. The enhanced vision he got from his mutation made the sight clear in the night. The man was beginning to bald his red hair and he had a scruffy beard. The girl had long hair of the same color and bright blue eyes. Despite the late hour, she seemed wide awake and lively.

"Dad…" the girl whined after about ten seconds.

"I know, I know." the man sighed. "Why don't you run around a bit to burn out some of that energy of yours? Just don't go too far."

The man was digging through some smaller piles of scrap and lumber. The girl was kicking a can in boredom. Splinter braced himself to flee if they came his way but they didn't seem interested in doing so. He relaxed and settled down to sleep He kept his ears pricked but he couldn't resist the lull of sleep.

Splinter suddenly felt something prodding at his face. He turned in discomfort. The prodding continued. Splinter shifted then awoke with a start. His eyes snapped open and fell upon the girl who was holding a stick.

Splinter's weariness, hunger, and stress over the past few days finally reached him and he did something he never thought he would do. He screamed. The girl soon joined him.

The man rushed over and wrapped his arms around his daughter. Splinter stared at them wide eyed and lowered his head so that the humans couldn't see his face beneath his cloak's hood.

The man took the stick from the girl's hand and held it up threateningly.

"Please, I mean her no harm, she just startled me." Splinter said not wanting to fight. Surely he would reveal himself.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked.

"I could ask the same about you." Splinter said as his mind raced for an explanation. Obviously he couldn't say he was attacked and captured by a ninja master from Japan and he was currently hiding in a junkyard from him so he wasn't stuck back in a rat cage.

"We were just looking for something." the man said.

"I believe that is illegal in New York." Splinter said.

"So is loitering." the man responded.

"My apologies." Splinter spoke as his mind found an explanation. He cleared his throat and thickened his accent. "I recently moved to America. I recently ran into a… what do you call it... a mugger? He took my wallet. It had my identification papers and my green card. My rent just ran out, I haven't found a job yet- I don't think I can now- and I couldn't afford to pay for another month without my savings so I've been sleeping on the streets. I don't think I can even return to my home country."

The man nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Splinter said.

"You can come home with us!" the girl chimed cheerfully. "We've got a great house!"

Splinter shook his head. "Thank you, young girl, but I'm sure your father wouldn't appreciate that and I couldn't impose."

The girl nodded. The man reached into his pocket. Splinter braced, expecting a gun, but was surprised to see the man pull out his wallet. The man handed over two twenty dollar bills.

"I couldn't accept this." Splinter said.

"Nonsense." the man said. "My old man used to always tell me to help whenever I could. Besides, you need it more than we do. I insist."

"Thank you." Splinter reached out and accepted it. The man eyed his hands. Splinter withdrew them.

"Um, I was a soldier." he lied. The man's face showed that he believed it. Plenty of soldiers were injured in war and moved to America.

"All the more reason to help you out." the man smiled. He took the girl's hand and began to walk away. "Have a good night! I hope you get things together!"

"Bye!" the girl waved. Splinter considered waving back but decided against it.

"Goodbye!" he called. "And thank you again!"

Splinter watched them walk away then pocketed the bills before settling back down to sleep. He dreamed of himself and his own daughter meeting those two kind humans.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This is what happens when I get stuck on a chapter. I wanted Splinter to meet some of the other characters but they're all in other countries at this point in time. The man and girl were Kirby and April O'Neil. Not at all important to the story, I just wanted to write a bit more of street Splinter.

Anyone know who the Terminator is yet?


	16. Henchmutants Part 3

Stockman is in trouble, the Terminator has mutagen, and Splinter's been living on the streets.

* * *

9 Years Ago

New York

The Terminator got some of the Foot's street level operatives to help him collect up as much mutagen as they could and carry it back to the Foot's lair. He deposited it in a storage room and reported back to the Shredder.

He walked into the throne room where his master was watching Baxter Stockman being shoved around by a pair of foot soldiers. They stopped as he entered and turned to look at him. They stiffened into a solider-like stance.

The Terminator tossed the tracker at Stockman. Stockman failed to catch it and it hit him square in the forehead causing him to fall back pathetically. The Terminator laughed. The foot soldiers did nothing, they weren't of rank where they could speak. They each gave him a swift bow.

The Terminator looked to the Shredder who was looking at him from his seat expectantly.

"I found the stuff, it's in the storage room," the Terminator told him.

"Good," the Shredder said. He looked to the two foot soldiers and Stockman. "Move it to the lab. I believe it is time for a… demonstration," he said then looked to the Terminator. "You come along as well, your loyalty and success deserves to be rewarded."

* * *

Soon, a number of foot ninja, Stockman, the Shredder, and the Terminator were assembled in the lab. There were several canisters of mutagen.

"Explain what this does again," the Shredder instructed.

"As you command, Master Shredder," Stockman said. "This mutagen; contact with it causes someone to mutate. From the rat's genetic code, it seems like the victim's DNA intakes whatever they recently made contact with."

"Hmm," the Shredder said. "Stockman!"

"Yes sir!"

"You have failed me too many times," the Shredder said.

"What?"

"Terminator," Shredder stated. The Terminator got the message and picked up a canister of mutagen and walked over to Stockman.

Stockman's eyes widened as the Terminator approached. He scrambled back. Two foot soldiers grabbed him but the Terminator signaled for them to release him. Stockman scrambled back on his hands and feet until he was backed up against the wall.

"No! You can't!" Stockman shrieked.

"I can't?" the Terminator questioned with a sadistic grin.

"I mean, of course you _can_ ," Stockman spluttered nervously. "I don't think you _should_ though."

The Terminator tilted the canister.

"Give me another chance! Please! I don't want to be a mutant."

The Terminator dropped the canister.

"Please! I'll do anything!"

The Terminator caught the canister.

"Oh thank you!" Stockman breathed.

The Terminator smiled again and rose his arm and brought it down. The glass canister shattered on Stockman's head and sent him into the ground. Mutagen covered his body. Stockman began screaming.

"Wonder what he'll turn into," the Terminator commented to the Shredder. The armored ninja master said nothing.

"Take him away," the Shredder said before Stockman was even finished mutating. "This is disgusting."

"He didn't make contact with anything beforehand," the Terminator pointed out as the foot soldiers dragged the mutating Stockman away.

"We won't make that mistake again."

"Who's our next subject."

"You," the Shredder turned on him.

"Me?" the Terminator questioned. No fear showed in his voice but panic was beginning to rise in his chest. "Why?"

"Your reward," the Shredder said.

"That didn't look very rewarding."

"Of course not but your mutation is optional for serving me so faithfully," the Shredder explained. "Every mutant I've seen is better than they were as a human. Stronger. I know you want that. And you can choose what you mutate into."

"I doubt Stockman would want to help us with that."

"I will discipline Stockman in due time," the Shredder said. "But we merely need to expose you to the DNA of the creature of your choosing."

The Terminator thought for a moment but to him, it wasn't much of a choice. "I'll do it."

"Good," the Shredder said. "I will give you one week's time. No, two. Cut off your human affairs and decide your mutation. Obtain the DNA of your choice and expose yourself to it as you see fit."

"Thank you for this opportunity, Master Shredder," the Terminator said. The Shredder didn't respond and returned to his throne room.

* * *

Splinter lifted a manhole cover and slipped through the hole in the street into the familiar space underneath New York City. The smell made him gag but it also made his heart soar. He was finally returning home after all these weeks of sleeping in alleyways and eating trash and trying to stretch what little money he had.

Splinter kept his ears perked for any sounds as he navigated the pipes. He didn't hear anyone and he couldn't smell any remaining scents of humans. The Foot hadn't been here in a while.

Splinter soon made it back to the lair. He smiled at the sight of it. It was as he remembered though it was clear that the foot soldiers had searched for him here. The furniture was moved around, there was dirty stains on the ground, the kitchen appliances were gone, some doors were broken. Still, it was home.

Actually it wasn't. His home was with his family but this was the next best thing. He wandered into each of his sons' bedrooms and to his his delight nothing was taken from the them or even very damaged. He ran his hands across each of their beds before making his way to his own bedroom behind the dojo.

Splinter saw that no one had found this place. It wasn't very well hidden but apparently it was enough for the ninjas to overlook it. Most of the weapons in the dojo were stolen and the ones with the Hamato Clan symbol were broken but Splinter's possessions within his room were intact and as he left them.

Splinter smiled but there was only thing he was interested in right now. His bed. Splinter flopped down on the mat and closed his eyes. He fell asleep into the best sleep he'd had in weeks almost immediately.

* * *

Back in the lab, members of the Foot Clan were assembled once again. The Shredder held a canister of mutagen. He stood before the Terminator who held something in his palm.

"Do you still wish to proceed?" the Shredder asked.

"Of course," the Terminator said. "But if I may ask, why would you want your second in command to be a mutant?"

"You are strong, you could be stronger," the Shredder said simply. "Your strength is the Foot's strength."

"Are you going to mutate?"

"I am a ninja master, mutation would only hinder my skills," the Shredder stated. "You are a hunter and a fighter. As those of us on the streets would say, a brawler. Mutation would only add to your skills."

The Terminator doubted most of that was true. He'd spent the last two weeks researching animals, some of them seemed like they had abilities that a ninja could make good use of. A panther, a spider, a snake, many types of fish, an octopus, even some species of birds. But he hadn't chosen any of those. There was one animal that had always interested him and he'd always envied ever since he learned of its abilities.

"I agree," the Terminator said. He opened his palm revealing a cockroach. The Shredder rose and eyebrow but didn't commented. The Terminator was wearing his usual gear. He slipped the cockroach into the pocket of his armored vest next to a knife.

"Do you wish to disarm yourself before you do this?" the Shredder asked.

"Nah," the Terminator said. He'd taken his gear into account. With any luck, it would fuse with the exoskeleton of the cockroach. He'd planned this heavily. When Stockman mutated, it looked painful. If he was going to go through that, he wanted to get the most out of it he could.

Speaking of Stockman, he'd mutated into a housefly. How, the Terminator did not know but the mutation went smoothly. He was disgusting but the mutagen had done its job.

The Shredder held up the mutagen. "Are you ready?"

The Terminator nodded. The Shredder handed him the canister. The Terminator drew a round razor blade from his pocket and cut the canister open. He held it above his head and let the ooze rain down on him.

The green liquid made contact with his skin. It burned like an acid so strong it didn't fit on the ph scale but the Terminator wasn't about to scream yet.

When the contents of the container leaked all over his body, that was when he screamed but he couldn't hear it through the pain. It felt like his spine was ripping itself out of his back and stretching around his body. Like he was sprouting wings of bone and wrapping them around himself.

Mutagen hit his communicator in his ear. He felt his skin fuse to it and suddenly it felt like something was grabbing his face.

The blade was still in his hand. He felt it burning into it. The same went for his vest, he could feel his body reaching out at every weapon in every pocket. It was all becoming apart of him.

The worst part was that while all this was happening, it also felt like he was growing. By the time he'd realized it, he'd doubled in size and was still growing. He was already a big person, he knew he'd be huge.

He felt things sprout from his body. He knew that he was growing extra limbs. That was one of the things that he wasn't thrilled about. Cockroach legs were gross, in his mind they were the only bad thing about them.

Slowly the pain faded and he opened his eyes which he hadn't realized he'd closed. The entire clan was staring at him. He moved and felt his body move freely and easily. The mutation had been successful, it hadn't deformed or damaged him.

He looked to his master and saw his reflection in his shiny metal armor. He saw the face of a cockroach with something attached to his face. Squares and circles filled his vision, highlighting things around him.

He stood up and spread out his arms. A spinning saw sprouted from one of his arms and various weapons extended from different points on his body. He flexed and retracted them until only his laser gun remained. It jutted out of his shoulder. A targeting system appeared in his vision and he blasted the remains of the mutagen canister.

He smiled. The Terminator- no. he wasn't the Terminator anymore. He was a living weapon. A weapon for the full use of the Shredder.

He bowed to the Shredder. "The Cockroach Terminator is at your full disposal, master."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** In this chapter, I started using proper punctuation for dialog. Not an important difference but just heads up because I was doing it wrong before.

Henchmutants Parts 1, 2, and 3 really weren't the best chapters. I wasn't planning on writing them originally but long story short I did. The next chapter's great though.

Henchmutants is pretty much based around one line in the original story. _Rahzar, Fishface, Mondo, Rockwell, Karai, and Casey stood faced off against Shredder's Snakeweed, Spiderbytes, Cockroach Terminator, Stockman Fly, and Pizza Face._ I needed some characters in America so I decided to elaborate on that one sentence. Those other characters may appear eventually. Maybe not. I really don't know what to do with them.

How do you guys like this alternate version of the Cockroach Terminator? Former bounty hunter turned second in command on the Foot Clan. Way better than that stupid little Spy Roach. He'll come back eventually. Probably.


	17. Mondo and Gecko

How did Mondo Gecko become a mutant?

* * *

New York

8 Years Ago

A seven year old boy sat behind a school desk. His leg was bouncing with anticipation as he stared at the wall where the clock was. Or at least where the clock should be. Taped over the clock was a sheet that read "It's learning time!" much to the boy's annoyance.

The boy let out a long sigh. Suddenly, the bell rang and the boy braced to jump to his feet. All the other kids in the classroom did the same and rushed to the door. The boy suddenly remembered something and sat back down in his seat quickly.

The teacher stepped to block the door. "The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do," she singsonged. The kids groaned as she ushered them back to their seats.

"Jesse, Jason, Brad," the teacher said as she pointed to a quiet girl, the boy, and another boy that looked way to big to be in second grade. "You did not leap at the sound of the bell, you may go first."

In his mind, the boy named Jason gave a victorious fist pump. He slung his backpack over his shoulder. He smiled as he and the other two kids walked out while the rest of the class watched. That felt good. At the beginning of the school year, it was always Jessica who got to leave first then Brad soon learned and joined and now finally Jason had caught on and was able to leave with them instead of watching enviously with all the other suckers.

Jason walked calmly out of the classroom and gave a wave goodbye to the other two kids. He walked down the hallway filled with other students who had left at the bell. Once his own classroom was out of sight, Jason broke into a run and made a beeline for his house.

Within minutes, he was racing up his street to his doorstep. He dug through his pocket for his keys and opened the door to his house. He dumped his backpack down in the entryway and ran in. On the table, he spotted a note from his mom but he ignored it and rushed into his room. He smiled as his gaze fell upon a tank sitting on a table pressed against the wall.

"Hey Lars," Jason greeted and lifted a long leopard gecko out of the tank gently. He put him on his shoulder. "School's over. Are you ready to go boarding?"

Lars lapped his tongue over his eyes and seemed to have a smile on his face. Jason smiled back and picked up the skateboard the had left lying on the floor. He picked it up and held it under his arm. He grabbed a bottle of water and his helmet and ran out of the house.

* * *

Outside, Jason dropped the board and hopped on it. His speed was greatly increased and he could move more effortlessly. Lars closed his eyes and relaxed as if he was enjoying the ride.

"I found this great boarding spot, Lars," Jason was saying. "There are even some ramps there already. I think I saw a halfpipe."

Jason continued to chatter excitedly until the two road up to a train station. Jason picked up his board and walked right on in. Lars looked around calmly. The station looked pretty worn, it was probably abandoned. Perfect.

Jason walked right up to a huge halfpipe. "There's no one around Lars. That's great, I've been wanting to practice this trick I saw on TV but there are always too many people at the skatepark."

Lars made a low sound. Almost like a happy growl.

Jason got onto the flat part of the halfpipe and began skating back and forth, picking up speed. Gradually, he began to slope up the curves of the pipe and eventually he was skating the whole thing.

Both Jason and Lars wore expressions that showed their thrill. Truly, there was nothing like skateboarding.

"You ready, Lars?" Jason asked as he reached the top of the halfpipe once more and rushed down. He sped across it and up the opposing side and launched high into the air.

Lars held onto his owner for dear life as the two spun around midair. Jason grabbed the board in his hands and kicked up his feet. Still in the air, he successfully finished the move by twisting around to out his feet back down on the board.

Jason had a satisfied grin but it faded as he was met with a dilemma. Gravity. He still had to land. He fell back to the earth and his board hit the ground at an awkward angle sending the seven year old boy and gecko flying.

Jason skidded against the ground painfully but tried as hard as he could to keep himself from landing on his beloved pet. Lars squeezed his eyes shut like he was praying to whatever god reptiles believed in that he wouldn't die right then and there.

Jason stopped rolling and lay still for awhile before slowly sitting up. He made sure Lars was okay then gave himself a quick once over. His knees and elbows were completely bloodied and bruised but he seemed alright.

Wincing in pain and trying to keep the tears in his eyes from falling, Jason got up with sluggish motions and made his way over to his board. Far off, he would hear cruel laughter. Looking up, he saw a group of kids laughing and pointing at the boy.

"Teacher's pet can't even do a incrementum!" a boy that Jason recognized from his class shouted above the laughter. He took a few steps towards him as Jason picked up his board. "Stick to the classroom, loser. Staking is for the street type."

"Yeah, we street type don't try an' do that school stuff. A dweeb like you don't belong with a board," a kid that Jason didn't recognize said. He looked wealthy. He was fully decked out in skater clothes and he had a board of an expensive brand. He also looked several years older than Jason. Maybe even a middle schooler.

"I like boarding. I'm good at it too," Jason said quietly, looking down, but no one heard him. Jason wished that he hadn't attempted that stunt just now. If he'd done any other trick, he'd have pulled it off and these kids would be congratulating him, not picking on him.

"Dweebs don't belong on the halfpipe," another kid said. Some other kids laughed. The word dweeb was mixed in with it. Jason lowered his head even more.

The older kid circled Jason, looking him over. "Short, skinny, small, not an ounce of muscle… Looks like a dweeb to me."

"He's too dweeby to be a dweeb," another kid said.

"He's a Big Dweeb."

"A Mega Dweeb!"

"A Massive Dweeb!"

A few more names were thrown around.

"A Mondo Dweeb!" a kid finally crowed. The group bust out into another round of laughter.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Mondo Dweeb."

"You don't belong here, Mondo."

The older kid took a step towards him. Jason clutched his board to his chest and stepped back. Lars, who'd been on his shoulder this whole time, leaned forward and hissed at the older boy.

"Looks like the teacher's pet got a pet of his own," the kid jested. "What's that, a lizard?"

"He's a gecko," Jason said quietly.

"What's that? Speak up boy."

"He's a gecko," Jason said louder.

"Well, lemme tell ya somethin' gecko boy," the older boy said addressing both Jason and Lars. "No Mondos and no Geckos are welcome here. This is skater boy territory. Get lost."

"No," Jason said defiantly with a surge of fearlessness. "I should be able to skate wherever I want."

The older boy reeled back a bit and rose his eyebrow. "Oh? Mondo's talkin' back to 'ol Lounge?"

Jason immediately regretted coming here.

"Ain't no one goes talkin' like that Lounge," Lounge growled. He looked to the group of boys around him. "Boys!"

A few kids cracked their knuckles and stepped forward. Jason tried to make a break for it but Lounge grabbed him by the back of the shirt. He shoved him back into the ring of boys.

"Lars run!" Jason said and threw Lars as gently as he could. Lars landed outside the ring of boys but didn't move. He just stared at Jason. Jason waved him away. "Run! I'll go find you later!"

Lars finally moved and disappeared into some bushes. A kid shoved Jason from behind causing the boy to fall face down into the concrete. Jason managed to catch himself but his face slammed into the concrete, earning himself a bloody nose. Jason got up and tried to get away but Lounge grabbed him and punched him in the face.

"You think we're done with you, Mondo?" Lounge asked then punched him again. Tears leaked from Jason's eyes and rolled down his cheeks. "We ain't gonna be done with you for a while, Mondo."

From the bushes, a gecko watched, wishing he could do something to help his beloved owner.

* * *

Eventually, a cop who just happened to be patrolling nearby, heard Jason's cries and screams and pulled up into the abandoned train station.

"Hey!" he shouted as he got out of his police car. "Get away from him!"

The group of kids looked up from kicking Jason. With one last kick from each of them, they bolted. The cop tried to grab one but there were too many so he decided to focus on the boy lying on the ground.

"Hey, buddy, you alright?" the cop asked.

Jason groaned and sat up. He clutched his head with one hand and held himself up with the other. His hand slipped and the cop caught him and looked at him with concern.

"What's your name, buddy?" the cop asked.

"Jason…" Jason moaned. The cop picked him up. He was young and small enough to do so.

"Alright Jason, I'm going to get you home, okay?" the cop asked.

"No! I need to find Lars," Jason protested weakly.

"Who's Lars?"

"My gecko," Jason said. "I told him to run when they grabbed me. I promised I'd find him."

The cop looked around the station and frowned. There were lots of nook and crannies for a gecko to hide in, assuming it was still here.

"You need to get home," the cop told him. He thought for a moment. He didn't really want to look for this kid's pet but he couldn't tell him that. "I'm sure that- Lars, was it?- will wait for you to come find him when you're better. Now can you tell me where you live?"

* * *

When the cop brought Jason home, Jason's mother freaked out and fussed over him. She thanked the cop profusely and asked what happened. The cop said he didn't know and left, leaving his number so that Jason's mother could call to tell him when Jason was alright before doing so.

Jason was put to bed and his mother fretted over his injuries. By the end of the day, he decided if he ever saw another bandage, ice pack, or bottle of hydrogen peroxide ever again it would be too soon.

For several days, Jason wasn't left alone for more than a minute. When his father returned from work, he worried over his son too but nothing could compare to Jason's mother. She said she'd never let him out of his sight again.

Jason hated being stuck at home even though he got to stay home from school. All he wanted to do was go find Lars. He begged his parents to let him out. His father seemed like he was for it but his mother began smothering him in hugs and motherly concern and wouldn't let him leave. His father didn't argue with her.

But after about a week, Jason saw his opening. His father had to work late and his mother was cooking. Jason climbed out of his bed, slid the window of his room open, and ran off to the abandoned train station.

* * *

"Lars!" Jason called out into the night as he walked around the station. "Lars!"

"Lookie what we've got here," a voice said. Jason whirled around and saw Lounge and the pack of kids standing behind him. "Mondo back in our stomping grounds. You don't belong here, Mondo."

"I know, I'm just looking for Lars," Jason said.

"Mondo without his gecko?" Lounge questioned. "Too bad, so sad. Get lost."

"I need to find Lars."

"You need to get lost," Lounge growled and punched him square in the jaw. "Or you're getting another beating and this time there are no cops around to come an' save you."

Jason looked at the boys fearfully. He learned his lesson since last time. Being beat up was more painful than he thought.

"Wait up, Lounge," another boy piped up as Lounge prepared to punch him. The boys shuffled back, giving Mondo a clear view of the boy. He was holding a glowing canister. "No need to beat him up. Before he came along, we were trying to pick which one of us was gonna open this thing. I think we've found the one."

Lounge gave a cruel smile. "Maybe in a bit. I still enjoy giving dweebs like Mondo here a good beat down. But I would like to see what that glowy stuff will do to him. Pass it over."

With canister in hand, Lounge kicked Jason's legs out from under him. Jason managed not to fall forward this time but he landed painfully on his butt. He hoped he didn't hurt his tailbone.

Lounge dangled the canister above him then pulled it away from him and kept kicking. A few other boys joined in. Jason curled up and tried to protect his head and other injuries. His rib cage had taken most of the beating, he was sure some of his ribs were cracked or broken.

"This is getting boring," Lounge announced after awhile. He held up the canister and rose it to hit Jason with it. "Let's see what kind of punch this thing packs."

Before Lounge would strike Jason, something shot out of the nearby bushes.

"Lars!" Jason cried out weakly.

Lounge was knocked back and the canister was sent flying into the air before falling back to earth right at Jason.

Lars leaped up with speed and power that should be impossible for a gecko. He knocked the canister out of the air. Lars hit the ground and the canister shattered beside him. The contents spilled over him. Lars screamed louder than anyone knew was possible for a gecko.

The boys merely watched with interest until the noticed that Lars was changing. With hisses and cries of pain, Lars felt himself getting bigger. He felt his face shift and his tail thicken.

A reptilian hand shot from the disgusting pile of scales and mutagen and grabbed Jason's wrist. He didn't pull away. He was in too much shock and he still knew that it was Lars. Even if he wanted to run away, he was too hurt. Blood trickled down his arm and onto Lars's.

It suddenly felt like his spine was breaking as it realigned into a new position. Lars screamed louder. The group of boys ran away with cries of fear of their own. A few remained, Lounge and that kid from Jason's class, to watch the transformation.

Lars's head hurt the most but through all the pain, that head pain was the only thing that felt like it should be happening. Surprisingly it felt right. His mind became clearer and he became very aware of everything happening to him.

Once the pain died down, Lars got to his feet. First to all fours then he reared back onto his hind legs. He glared at Lounge and the boy at his side. Dropping back down, he feigned forward and snarled. The two took off and Lars turned back to Jason. He got down on his knees and crouched over him.

"Lars?" Jason asked. He coughed. Blood splattered across Lars's bare chest.

"Yeah," Lars said. His voice surprised him. He was speaking like a human, like Jason. Lars looked over the broken boy. His old injuries were bleeding again and his leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Lars grimaced and looked into Jason's eyes. "You're going to be alright, I'm going to get you home to Mom and Dad."

Jason tried to sit up but he gasped in pain and fell back down. Lars moved to his side and put his hand under his head.

"I can't do it, Lars. I can't get up," Jason said. "I don't think I can get home."

"Then I'll carry you," Lars said. He got his arms under him and tried picking him up but Jason cried out in pain so Lars put him back down. He looked at him helplessly.

Jason coughed up blood again. Lars wiped it away from his mouth gently with a look of concern. He'd seen Jason cough before when he got sick but he'd never coughed up blood before. He didn't know what that meant. He felt a strange sensation in his mind and suddenly he knew that Jason had internal injuries and that they were pretty bad.

Jason didn't seem to realize this. His eyes drooped and Lars grabbed his hand to keep him awake.

"I'm really glad you can talk now, Lars," Jason said. "I used to talk to you but it wasn't really like talking to a person. Could you understand me?"

"Every word," Lars whispered. "It meant so much to me. You mean so much to me. No one else talks to me."

Jason gave a small smile. "I'm glad you listened. You're my best friend."

"You're mine too," Lars smiled back.

"Hey!" a voice boomed from the distance. Lars looked over and saw another cop car pull up. A cop climbed out. A different one from before. "Get away from him!"

"Help," Lars croaked. "He needs help."

The cop drew his gun and aimed it at Lars. "I'm warning you! Get away from the boy!"

Lars backed away from Jason slowly. The cop kept his gun raised. He looked indecisive for a moment then pulled the trigger.

Lars ducked and the bullet sailed overhead. He looked at the cop in shock. The cop fired a few more rounds. Lars weaved around them and ran. He didn't make it far when he heard a cry.

"Jason!" Lars screamed. Jason, who was still lying on the ground, had a fresh wound with blood oozing out of it. Lars snarled and turned on the cop. He rushed at him. The cop fired several more shots, all of them missing.

Lars lunged at the cop. He slammed into him and knocked him off his feet despite his light weight and small size compared to the larger human. The cop fell flat on his back and Lars stood over him. He knocked out with a swift blow. He was about to give another when he heard Jason cough again.

His attention left the cop and was all on Jason. He rushed back to his side and kneeled beside him.

"Lars…" Jason moaned.

"You're going to be alright, you're going to be alright." Lars was convincing himself more than Jason. Jason clutched the bullet wound. Lars' hands joined his and the two applied pressure, not knowing what else to do.

"Lars…" Jason moaned again. The boy's head fell to the side and his chest went still.

"Jason." Lars closed his eyes and swallowed hard in grief. Jason was dead. Gently, he used his sticky fingers to close his eyes.

Lars sat like that beside Jason for awhile. As the sun began to peek up from the horizon, he heard sirens approaching and more police cars pulled out.

Cops piled out and held up guns.

"Freeze!"

"Put your hands where I can see them!"

"On the ground, freak!"

Lars stared with eyes wide and looked down at Jason. The cops seemed to notice the dead body and began firing.

"Goodbye Jason," Lars whispered and got down onto all fours and darted away.

* * *

Cops chased Lars for a good part of the day but Lars was too agile to get caught and he avoided bullets fairly well. The closest he got to getting shot was a graze on his tail.

He tried to return home, to Jason's house, but when he neared, he saw cop cars surrounding it. He saw a cop talking to Jason's mother and father. Jason's mother was crying into the husband's chest.

Lars felt great sorrow in his chest and also a great anger. He should be the one telling them, not the people who killed their son.

Lars slunk away. Once the morning passed, he felt fairly confident that he'd lost the cops chasing him but he'd gotten lost. He tried asking a human how to get home but the human had screamed and Lars ended up getting chased by cops again.

Eventually, he lost them again. Once nighttime came around again, Lars found himself a spot in a warehouse to curl up and hide in. He was tired and tried to sleep but his mind was too full.

Jason was dead. Jason, his owner and only friend. Lars didn't understand why those boys were beating on him or why that cop had shot at him. He didn't understand why humans were suddenly afraid of him now when they'd be fine with him before.

He hugged himself as he lay down on the cold concrete. His new body felt so strange. Maybe that was why the humans and cops had been afraid of him? Because he was different?

Jason didn't seem to mind. He loved him no matter what. With sorrow, Lars realized that Jason had only been shot because of him. The cop wasn't aiming at Jason, it was Lars' fault. A small part of him reminded him that he changed because he was trying to protect Jason but Lars had too many emotions to listen.

Tears fell from Lars's eyes. They were followed by a series of sobs and slowly, Lars cried himself to sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Ha! Bet you weren't expecting Lars to become Mondo Gecko. If you were, clearly you haven't seen the episode.

I don't actually know anything about skateboarding. Incrementum doesn't actually meet anything. A lot of this was based off of the new Subway Surfer Cartoon series.

I also haven't been in elementary school for a very long time, I don't know how seven year olds talk. I literally googled 'childish insults' to try and find good dialog for the bullies. Everyone at my school is really chill and doesn't really care about anything. Everyone bullies each other but no one really means it so harsh words aren't thrown around. That's a good thing but it also meant I don't know how childhood bullies talk.

I'm sorry that Jason died but it was necessary. This is why this fic is rated T. I'm realizing that there is kind of a lot of police violence in this story. Not a ton but more than I'd like. I don't have any problem with the cops. Actually I take that back. I have mixed feelings about cops.

Lounge is the name of a mutant lizard in the comics. I don't like OCs so I had to find a name for the bully. This version of Lounge is somewhat based off of the actual character but not really.

My motivation to write this story has been restored. The last chapter(s) kinda sucked. THE SEQUEL IS NOT UP YET but I started writing it finally. I planned on having it finished two months after I finished the original story but that didn't happen. Right now is almost exactly two months I think and I just started. It won't be up for awhile but just know that it is coming and its going to be much better than the original story. That story was kind of poorly written, I wrote it without the intention of it becoming what it is now.

BTW this story has over a thousand views now. There are only like twenty people who actually read it but that's still pretty cool.

I recently realized that I haven't written a chapter explaining how Mikey ended up in Australia or how Leo got into Asia. I planned Mikey's chapter a long time ago but I have no idea how Leo got into China. If any of you have any ideas or want to help me out, please review or PM me. I don't know how long the offer is going to be up or if anyone's actually going to do it or how many people will if you do so if you're interested act quickly. If no one does I probably won't write it for awhile.


	18. Merda (and Character List)

Why does Fishface always say merda? What does it even mean?

* * *

South America

1 Year Ago

Two mutant turtles, a mutant fish with robotic legs, and a human boy sat atop rocks in a circle in a secluded cove at the ocean's side. Each one had a stone in hand that they were grinding against another rock with deep concentration. It was mid day. Normally they took these hours off but they were behind on work and had agreed to spend the afternoon carving sharp stones that they found into tools and weapons.

"Merda!" Raph hissed as the stone he was rubbing slipped out of his grip. This was probably the fifth or sixth time this happened today due to the shape of his hands but this time the grunt of pain was followed by a drip of blood.

Raph picked up the stone that he'd dropped and set it beside him before he turned his attentions to his sliced finger.

"Lemme see," Slash instructed.

"I'm fine, it's just a cut," Raph insisted.

"And not a clean one," Slash said hardly. Raph looked away and grudgingly stuck his hand out for the older turtle to inspect. "The cut is jagged and there's no way that stone was anything close to being sanitary."

"Do I look like I care about sanitariness?"

"Sanitation," Casey corrected.

"Whatever."

"If dirt gets in this, it could get infected and you'll be out of commission until we get the infection out and the wound heals," Slash told him.

"Fine," Raph said then froze and glared at his older counterpart. "Don't you dare spit in my cut Slash! Don't you dare!"

"I wasn't going to!"

"That's nasty, man," Fishface smiled, looking up from his whittling. "You know how squeamish Raph can get."

"I'm not squeamish!"

Casey laughed.

Raph glared at him.

"I'm going to get some clean water to wash this," Slash said gesturing at Raph's cut. His gaze scanned his companions. "Can I trust you three will behave?"

"Yes Slash."

"Yes Slash."

"You three? I am not a child," Fishface scoffed.

"And yet I still have to keep you out of trouble," Slash stated. He walked away. After a few steps he looked back in suspicion before heading off again.

Once he was out of sight, Raph shoved Fishface off the rock he was sitting on. Fishface yelped in surprise. He took a tumble, dropping the stone he was working at and landing on his back in the process.

"Merda, this is embarrassing," Fishface muttered as he lay back like a turtle flipped on his shell. A bit ironic. His mechanical legs flailed in the air. "Casey, help."

"Help yourself. I've seen all of you flip back to your feet on your own."

"I'm literally lying on a bed of rocks. We need momentum to get up. I'll mess up my back and fins if I rock on this," Fishface said gesturing around at their location. They were sitting in the rocky area between the beach and the mountain. As he said, Fishface was lying in a section covered in small rocks and gravel.

Casey huffed and got to his feet. He stuck out his hand. Fishface took it and the human boy heaved the fish back to his feet. Or he tried at least.

"Raph. Help." Casey looked helplessly at his friend.

Raph sighed and rolled his eyes. He'd been putting pressure on his cut but he released it and got up to help Casey and Fishface. Both of Casey's hands went to Fishface's right hand while Raph's uninjured hand clasped Fishface's left.

With some effort, the two teenagers managed to get the mutant fish back to his feet.

"Merda," Raph said. "You're heavy, man."

"It's all in the legs," Fishface grunted as he brushed dirt off his scales. Raph wiped the parts he couldn't reach then gave him a friendly punch followed by a small smile. Fishface glared and continued to grumble but there was no resentment or anger in his eyes.

The three sat back down on their rocks. Fishface and Casey continued sharpening the rocks. Raph held up his hand and reapplied pressure to it with the other. Slash soon returned and began cleaning Raph's cut before wrapping it in a piece of cloth.

"Don't use that hand until the wound closes," Slash ordered. "Push on it with your thumb so you can keep using your other hand."

Raph didn't verbally respond but he did as Slash told him to do and resumed wearing away at the stone he was sharpening.

"Hey, I got a question," Casey said after a few minutes of silence.

"Ask away."

"What is it?"

"For who?"

"For all of you, mostly Raph and Fishface," Casey said. "So you know how you guys always say Martha?"

"Merda," Raph corrected. "It's merda."

"Merda. Okay. So why do you say it?"

Raph looked surprised for a moment then cut to his hand to his chin in thought. "I don't know. I don't remember saying it when I was real little. I think I just picked it up from Fishface."

The three looked to the mutant fish.

"It means shit in Portuguese," Fishface said bluntly. "My grandad was from Brazil and he swore like a sailor. I guess I picked it up from him. My mother said merda was my first word."

"Your folks must've been so proud," Slash said with so much sarcasm that he was practically drowning in it.

"Well then. Now I know what I've been saying the past nine years," Raph grumbled. Casey laughed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Short chapter, I know.

I think Raph only said merda once in the original story but they began saying it more in this one and I thought this would be a nice way to show life at some random point in time for our South American group.

The first time I wrote merda I think was because I wanted Raph to swear but I didn't want to actually write it all out so I wrote it in Spanish. Shit in Spanish doesn't sound as nice as shit in Portuguese and Xever's from Brazil so I just went with merda. This is why you should take Spanish in school, kiddos. To write fanfiction.

The update schedule for this story is still once or twice a week to once every two weeks. I plan on updating in around two weeks. These next two weeks are free for the most part and I want to get a lot of writing done without worrying about updating. There's a good chance that there'll be more frequent updates after that then the sequel (that is still over two months late) may be up soon after.

As said in the last author's note, I'm still looking for an idea on how Leo ended up in China. If anyone has any ideas on anything for this story, I'd greatly appreciate them. If there's anything you want to see, please tell me. You have no idea how much it will help.

Since this is a short chapter, I thought it'd be a good idea to include the main character list, dates, and character ages. Y'now, cuz this is an AU.

* * *

 **Character List and Ages in Present Day:** (Present Day is 2012)

Leonardo (Asia Group) 15

Tiger Claw (Asia Group) 38

Karai (Asia Group) 16

Rocksteady (Asia Group) 37

Raphael (South America Group) 15

Fishface (South America Group) 32

Slash (South America Group) 34

Casey Jones (South America Group) 17

Donatello (Antarctica Group) 15

Doctor Rockwell (Antarctica Group) 37

Rahzar (Antarctica Group) 24

April O'Neil (Antarctica Group) 16

Michelangelo (Australia Group) 15

Leatherhead (Australia Group) Age Unknown

Bebop (Australia Group) 26

Mondo Gecko (Australia Group) 15

Master Splinter (New York) 50 (at death)

* * *

 **Author's Note** (Continued) **:** Should I include the year in each chapter? I have a list. Have a nice day everyone.


	19. Lost and Found

**Author's Note:** I'm back. Technically I wasn't on a break or anything because I stuck to the upload schedule but its time to have a talk.

I planned on getting a ton of writing done. I had 2 weeks of free time so I was going to focus on finishing this story but that didn't happen. Last week I had free time and I wasted it and this week I had surgery. Turns out you can't write while on narcotics. I tried writing an essay a few days ago. It took me 15 minutes to write 2 sentences and I started hallucinating so I don't feel that bad about not writing.

I do have the rest of this story planned though. Its ending at 30 chapters unless I get a wave of motivation or someone makes a good request. Originally this was going to be an 'upload whenever I feel like it while I write other stuff' story and I think that's what its going to turn back to. But it will still be updated regularly and probably stick to the previous schedule. I'm just not really feeling this story anymore but I want to finish it.

Anyway, time for the chapter. I wrote this like a month ago and planned it even longer ago.

* * *

How did Splinter manage to contact the turtles? [Takes place right before the chapter called Dream in the original story]

* * *

New York

Present Day

Splinter awoke to light hitting his face. He groaned and looked around. He was in the dojo. He must've fallen asleep while training. Again. He really needed to stop doing that.

Splinter sat up. He pawed at his belly. Any second now… there is was. Angry growl of a hungry belly. Splinter got to his feet and headed to the kitchen.

He was in the lair. He'd returned nearly nine years ago. Occasionally he'd have to flee and take refuge in another part of the sewers or on the surface when the Shredder's underlings came around for a routine check on their patrolling but it was otherwise safe.

Splinter opened a cupboard and pawed around tiredly for something to eat. His hand clasped around a can of soup. He stared at it a moment and looked into the cupboard. There wasn't much else. He'd have to go scavenging again soon.

Splinter's movements were slow, partly out of tiredness and partly from lack of motivation. After all these years, he still wasn't the man he once was. Depression and loneliness still lingered in his heart every day. The only thing that kept him going was the hope that he would see his sons once more.

Hope was all he had. It was what let him wake up every day. It was what pushed him to eat and drink. What kept him in the sewers rather than going to the surface and letting some human capture him. What kept him from listening to the whispers of his swords and giving into their calls for his blood to spill on them.

Splinter shook his head from those thoughts. They weren't welcome. He focused on the old broken electric stove he was standing by. He set a pot on the burner, poured some water in, and dump the contents of the can in. Not having anything better to do, he watched it boil. He'd done this many times even when not making soup. He felt the bubbling ad the heat could be symbolic in some way but could never find the words to express it and not for the lack of trying.

Splinter realized he'd zoned out when the boiling water was practically overflowing from the pot. Startled, he reached for the dial and switched off the heat and moved the pot from the burner. Tiny droplets of scalding water were flying out. One hit the back of his wrist. He hissed in pain and pulled it away. He moved over to the sink and ran it under the water until he felt he was wasting water.

Splinter flapped his paw to distract his mind from the stinging feeling of the burn. As a child, before he experienced true injuries, he felt burns were the worst kind of wound. They weren't quite like a cut of scrape but he could never find the words to express this either.

The flapping of his paw also fanned the steam away from the pot. Splinter stopped his flapping and grabbed a bowl. He poured some soup in and sat down at the table.

He blew at it until he felt it was cool enough. He grabbed a spoon and slurped at the soup. He enjoyed the way he heat slid down his throat despite the fact he was trying not to gag. He never liked the way American soup tasted. Especially the canned kind. It was so salty.

With a warm and fully belly, Splinter headed back to the dojo for his morning meditation. Or maybe afternoon meditation. He didn't know what time it was. Post waking up meditation was more accurate.

Splinter settled under the tree that stood in the dojo. Since the loss of his sons, Splinter didn't see the same beauty in it as he once did. The glow raining down from above the leaves was still there but it wasn't as strong. The bright colors seemed to have faded. The bark lost its sturdiness and the marks of swords scarred the trunk from the Foot's original attack.

Splinter was about to close his eyes when his gaze fell upon the nearby shrine. With a look of sadness, he looked at the two pictures that stood there. One was of himself during his life as a human. Hamato Yoshi stood beside his wife Tang Shen holding his daughter Miwa. The other picture had been taken after his mutation. He somehow stood stronger and lighter than he had as a human. Four masked mutant turtles stood around him. They all looked happy.

Splinter lowered his gaze. Though he meditated daily, he'd never found any sign of the spirits of his sons anywhere. Splinter closed his eyes and pulled himself into the lotus pose. Maybe today he'd try and find them again. It couldn't hurt.

Splinter inhaled deeply. He exhaled through his mouth before inhaling again. On this inhale, as his chest rose, his spiritual form slid from his body and floated upward. Splinter looked down at his body and levitated upward, through the ceiling then through the streets of New York.

The city was busy as it usually was but Splinter knew he wouldn't find anything there. He continued to rise until he was above the clouds, above the sky, and eventually above the Earth. He looked down at it, recognizing the continents that he'd memorized in school as a young boy.

Splinter continued to rise until he slid past space into the beyond. The Astral Plane.

This was a familiar place. There was no ground or sky and nothing on the horizon. Everything was a solid color. Or not solid. More hazy and fluid. The colors that made up everything seemed to flow like mixing paints.

There were three things that did not share the same color as the paint that made up the setting. The first was Splinter himself. The spirit. The second was a tree. The same tree as the one in the dojo. Splinter knew it served as an anchor.

The third thing always confused him. He was standing in his own personal corner of the Astral Plane but whenever he showed up, there was someone else there. A Being of some sort. Splinter couldn't really tell what he was supposed to be. He was humanoid and had human features but anytime he looked at his face, he couldn't make out the details of it even though the knew they were there. And the Being never spoke. It rarely even moved even when Splinter attempted to move it or have a conversation. After all these years, Splinter had learned to just ignore it.

Splinter looked in the opposite direction of the tree through a window that looked down upon the Earth.

"I am looking for my sons," Splinter said aloud. Talking to himself had become a habit of his in the Astral Plane. The Being didn't seem interested in what he was doing but he always felt embarrassed when he was doing something that probably looked ridiculous so he began commentating his actions in case the Being was paying attention. Childish but he didn't really care.

"I know they're down there," Splinter said staring at the blue planet below.

The Being was suddenly at his side. Splinter was slightly startled but showed no signs. The Being stood as tranquil as ever looking through the window down at the Earth.

Splinter shifted away from the Being a bit and began to focus. Splinter closed his eyes and pressed his hands together. The Astral Plane began shifting as Splinter's mind sifted through the Earth in search of his missing children.

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder, scaring Splinter out of the psychic scan. The rat looked around wildly and was the Being holding his arm.

"What are you doing?" Splinter asked hesitantly. The Being was acting strangely today, it had never done anything close to this.

The Being gave a small smile and began to float up into the air as Splinter had earlier. He beckoned Splinter to follow. Splinter merely stared at it with confusion. This was the Astral Plane. There was nothing above it.

The Being looked annoyed. It reached out and grabbed Splinter again and began pulling him upward. The mutant began struggling but soon realized resistance was futile. The Being wasn't flesh and blood, he couldn't break its grip.

As the two rose, Splinter began to feel strange. It felt like he was breaking through the surface of water in slow motion. Splinter shut his eyes and braced as if pretending this wasn't happening.

Eventually, the two stopped. Splinter kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut, scared to open them. The Being gently jostled him, prompting him to open up, but Splinter didn't move.

"Look," the Being uttered. That single word startled Splinter into opening his eyes with a gasp. He stared at the Being for a moment. The Being was still expressionless. It gestered around.

Splinter turned his head. He gasped again. He was surrounded with darkness with points of brightness shining out from it, almost like the night sky but there was something different about it tat Splinter's couldn't place. Below his feet, he could see the swirling colors of the Astral Plane.

"Where are we?" Splinter asked the Being. The Being said nothing. It merely used a hand to tilt the rat's head in a different direction and Splinter's eyes fell upon a small globe. He recognized the continental patterns.

Splinter looked at the Being with confusion. The Being waved a hand over the globe. Small specks of light began to appear.

Splinter watched with fascination but he remained confused. Then, amongst the white lights, an orange dot appeared. Splinter froze.

"Is that…?" Splinter asked, not taking his eyes off the globe. The Being, as expected, didn't respond. A red dot appeared followed by a purple then a blue. Splinter's breathing became labored and his eyes began to water.

The Being looked at him with concern and took his hand, guiding him away from the globe.

Splinter looked at the Being with wide, watering eyes. "Are those- Are those- Are those my sons?"

The Being nodded.

"Thank you," Splinter said breathlessly and through himself against the Being. The Being put a comforting hand on the mutant's back.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I honestly don't know what was going through my head when I wrote this.

I got hypnotized a few months ago. There was a Buzzfeed video about looking at your past life. I don't really believe that kinda stuff, I just did it for fun. Wasn't the most enjoyable but I'd encourage you to do it. The video is called "Get Hypnotized To Find Out Your Past Life". But I advise you to be cautious. Don't randomly watch videos that hypnotize you. Be safe over everything. Anyway, this is based off of what it was like.


	20. Fear

How did Leatherhead deal with his past and rage attacks?

* * *

Australia

5 Years Ago

Leatherhead was sleeping. More precisely, he was dreaming.

In the waking world, Leatherhead's gargantuan form lay beside a small pool of water in the oasis that his friends had found for him recently. A kind gesture. They knew Leatherhead loved them but they also knew he needed some peace from time to time. So while they were racing about the outback on some great adventure, Leatherhead was usually resting soundly here in the tall grass. But not today on this fine morning. The mutant alligator was deep in sleep but it was not restful nor sound. With low snorts and growls, Leatherhead squirmed and thrashed in his sleep as he suffered from the dream that haunted his mind.

In the realm of sleep, Leatherhead was in a strange metal building. Around him, hallways and corridors stretched as far as the eye could see. And running down them where thin robotic men with brains in their abdomens running towards him.

"Kraang…" Leatherhead's lips pulled back into a snarl. His arm twitched.

"Hey Leatherhead!" a voice said suddenly. Leatherhead's eyes didn't open. Out of the thick plants of the oasis stepped a ten year old mutant turtle in a bright orange hat. He wore a happy grin on his face as he spoke in a singsong voice. "Oh Leatherhead! Time to get up buddy!"

The sleeping reptile merely replied with a chuff.

"Man, I think he's still sleepin'," Bebop said, poking his head out from behind Mikey.

"Leatherhead!" Mondo yelled as loud as he could, cupping his hands. "Wake up!"

"Dude, don't do that!" Mikey said urgently, waving his hands, signaling Mondo to turn down the volume. Mondo tilted his head in confusion.

"Man, don't you you remember what happened last time he was like this?" Bebop said dramatically gesturing at Leatherhead as he flinched in his sleep. Bebop walked in a circle with his hands on his hips, inspecting him. Leatherhead lay flat on his stomach with his arms sprawled out to his sides. Bebop took large steps over him. "He's nightmaring, fool. We don't wanna wake him up or we get a repeat of last time!"

Mondo shuddered as he remembered running from a roaring hulk of a mutant. And geckos were surprisingly slower than mutant turtles and warthogs. Not a very fun experience.

Bebop looked to Mikey. "You've known him the longest, lil green. What're we supposed to do 'bout this? He can't just sleep all day 'cuz we're too scared to wake 'im."

Mikey hummed in thought. His face hardened into a focused expression. His eyes narrowed in concatenation. His stomach growled. His face lit up and he snapped his fingers. "I got it! Food!"

"Mmmm food…" Mondo rubbed his belly. Bebop flicked in the back of the head, earning a yelp from the smaller mutant. "Hey!"

"I get what you're sayin', lil green, but we don't got no food worth eating let alone food that smells good enough to wake up 'ol Leatherhead."

"Leave that to me," Mikey said with a mischievous expression. He rubbed his hands together and ran off leaving Mondo and Bebop with the now snoring Leatherhead.

* * *

Mikey was back within in a few minutes. Mondo and Bebop exchanged a confused look. There were no structures in sight and there was no way Mikey could've made it to the city that fast but they didn't question it. Mikey was capable of many unexplainable things.

Mikey held several grocery bags in his hands. He set them down and began rummaging through them without a word to his friends. Mondo and Bebop exchanged another glance.

"Um, where'd you get that?" Mondo asked after a moment.

"Some lady set them down and I snatched them," Mikey explained without looking up. He was crouched beside the bags. Half his body was practically in the bag. "Finders keepers, bros."

"When?"

"Got it!" Mikey exclaimed without answering the question. He stood up holding a small styrofoam package with a thin plastic layer over it.

"What is it?" Mondo took the package and looked at it. He turned it over in his hands, trying to recall an unknown memory where he'd seen this before.

"It's steak I think," Bebop said. "I'm not sure what kind though. I don't think it matters."

"What's steak?" Mikey asked.

"It's a kind of meat," Bebop told him. Mikey nodded as if he understood but Bebop doubted that he did. They usually left gathering to Mikey and Mondo while Leatherhead and Bebop did more of the hunting. Mostly Leatherhead actually. Bebop still had a hard time killing animals, especially since he was one now, but the two of them kept the prey far from the younger mutants until it didn't resemble an animal anymore.

"So what do we do with it?" Mondo asked.

"We use it to wake up Leatherhead," Mikey answered.

"How?"

Mikey looked to Bebop.

"We could try rubbing it on his face or something," Bebop shrugged. Mikey took the package from Mondo and took a step towards Leatherhead. "Wait, take it out of the plastic first. You can't eat that. It's nasty. Would not recommend."

Mikey looked at the package in his hand. He flipped it over a few times, trying to figure out how to open it. Bebop sighed and took it from him. He hooked the thin film that covered it onto one of his tusks and tore it open. The steak fell into his hands and he handed it back to Mikey.

Mikey inhaled deeply then set the meat down on Leatherhead's snout. The turtle cowered back a bit and shut his eyes. After a moment he realized that Leatherhead wasn't responding to it and relaxed before frowning.

"Humans normally cook meat," Bebop said after a moment. "I think that brings out the smell."

"Cool! …So how do we cook it?"

Bebop tapped his chin with his fingers in thought. "We don't got no stove, no oven, no toaster, no nothin'. You gotta cook with heat and we ain't got none."

"Dude, what're you talking about?" Mondo said before throwing back his arms and head to scream to the sky. "We're in the Outback! Its so freaking hot here!"

"Oh right," Bebop said. He took the steak from Mikey and grabbed a flat stone lying a few feet away from Leatherhead. He walked out of the shade of the oasis and lay the steak down on the stone in the sun.

Bebop walked away and sat beside Mondo and Mikey back in the tall grass of the oasis. The three stared at the meat as it sat in the sweltering sun.

"Nothing's happening," Mondo said after a few minutes.

"You gotta let it fester for awhile," Bebop told him.

Mikey began sniffing the air. His stomach growled. "Mmm. That smells good."

Mikey started to get up but Bebop grabbed him by the brim of the shell. "Hey! Don't be snatchin' 'ol LH's grub!"

Mikey whined then sat back down with a pout and his arms crossed. Mondo's mouth began to water.

After a few more minutes, Leatherhead's nostrils began to twitch. Mikey gasped. Bebop grabbed the steak out of the sun and tossed it in the larger mutant's direction. Leatherhead's maw opened and caught the steak mid toss.

"It worked!" Mikey exclaimed gleefully.

Leatherhead's eyes opened and he raised his massive head to look in their direction. "Oh. Hello, my friends."

"Leatherhead!" Mondo shouted and threw his arms up in the air. He ran over and wrapped his arms around the alligator in a hug. "You were nightmaring, bro! I was scared you weren't going to wake up!"

Leatherhead's gaze softened. "Do not fear for me, my friend. You have nothing to fear. I have lived a long time, I would not leave you now."

* * *

Later that day, Leatherhead sat leaned against one of the trees in the oasis. His eyes were closed and he wore a calm expression. He breathed deeply, inhaling the Outback air as it mixed with the cool atmosphere of the oasis.

In the distance, he could hear his friends racing around. Once again they were light hearted and carefree after their concern. Leatherhead felt guilty. He didn't like to be the reason that the smiles left his friends' faces.

Leatherhead pushed the thoughts away. He was supposed to be calming himself. He resumed his deep breathing but the memories kept coming back.

" _That which is known as mutant must stop resisting Kraang."_

Leatherhead's face hardened into a slight scowl.

" _That which is known as alligator mutant will tell Kraang of the place that is known as Earth."_

" _Why?"_

" _For the invasion that is known as the invasion of Earth."_

A growl rumbled in Leatherhead's throat.

 _Lasers fired._

 _A metal door was ripped off its hinges._

 _Freedom._

 _A stone giant._

 _Recapture._

"Leatherhead?"

 _Roars of pain. The sound of electric batons-_

"Yoo hoo? Leatherhead?"

 _An invisible ally._

 _Chains fell to the ground._

"Leatherheaaaad?"

 _Hallways. Corridors._

 _Hundreds of metal footsteps thundering towards him._

"Leatherhead!" Mondo put a hand on the alligator's side and lightly shook him.

Leatherhead's eyes snapped open, glazed over in white.

"Kraang!" Leatherhead roared and rose up to his full height. Bebop, Mikey, and Mondo stared at him with wide, fearful eyes.

"Run!" Bebop shouted. Mikey screamed and took off like a rocket. Mondo was frozen in fear. Bebop grabbed him by the back of the short and ran after Mikey.

Leatherhead let out a deep throated bellow and grabbed a tree with one hand. His palm hit the truck with a loud noise and his claws clasped around it before he tore it from its roots.

Mikey was sitting in the driver's seat of the jeep. Bebop jumped onto the dashboard and shoved Mondo through the missing windshield into the passenger seat.

"Go. Go. Go. Go," Bebop said urgently without his usual rhythm.

Mikey slammed the gas pedal. The tires spun circles for a moment before lurching forward.

"Kraang!" Leatherhead roared again. Suddenly the tree was in front of the jeep. Mikey veer a hard right to avoid totaling the jeep and slammed on the breaks. Bebop flew off the dashboard with Mondo nearly close behind if not for the seat belt that he remembered to put on.

"I'm out!" Bebop shouted and began poking at his techno vest. Within a few seconds, he was invisible. But that made no difference to the raging Leatherhead.

The massive mutant dropped down to all fours and gave another deafening roar. The invisible Bebop was knocked off his feet. Leatherhead lunged forward and lashed out with one hand.

Bebop's gear sparked for a few seconds before giving out completely, returning the warthog to visibility. He eyed the hand that was clasped around his waist fearfully before looking into the white eyes of his holder.

"Leatherhead! I know you don't mean it buddy!" Bebop said desperately.

Leatherhead suddenly let out a grunt of pain as he was hit with the jeep. Bebop fell from his grip.

Mikey and Mondo jumped out of the car's missing doors and tumbled onto the hard ground. Mikey rolled onto his feet while Mondo fell into a painful heap.

"I'm okay!" Mondo shouted to no one in particular.

"Leatherhead!" Mikey called. "Snap out of it! What's wrong?"

"Kraang!" Leatherhead bellowed, eyes still glazed white.

"Why does he always shout that?" Bebop screamed as he backflipped away from another swipe of Leatherhead's mammoth hand.

"Why is he always trying to destroy us?" Mondo yelled.

"He's very sensitive. He had hard life," Mikey said softly.

"That doesn't mean he needs to make our lives harder!" Bebop yelped as he weaved between Leatherhead's attacks. Leatherhead suddenly spun around and nailed Bebop with a swing of his tail, blasting him back into Mikey and Mondo.

The three looked up from their mutant heap at the towering alligator standing over them. Leatherhead's lip curled back, revealing his long, sharp fangs. The three cowering mutants grabbed each other for comfort and squealed.

Leatherhead reared back and raised one trunk-like arm with his claws outstretched towards the shivering trio.

"Leatherhead! Its us!" Mondo yelled.

"Yeah!" Bebop added. "You know, your friends?"

"Leatherhead!" Mikey cried. He looked up at his friend, eyeing the claws aimed at him, with watery eyes. "Don't you remember me? It's me! Mikey! Your little Michelangelo!"

Leatherhead paused for a moment.

"And Bebop and Mondo!" Mikey added.

"Yeah! You love us too, don't you big green?" Bebop asked.

Mondo let out a strange sound, expressing his feelings without words.

Leatherhead blinked a few times. With each blink, the white seal over his eyes faded a bit more.

"My friends?" Leatherhead said after a moment. He looked to where the three of them were clutching each other then to his raised fist then back to his friends again. His expression softened. "I'm sorry! Did I get angry again?"

"Leatherhead!" Mikey shot forward and wrapped his arms around Leatherhead's abdomen. "Are you okay?"

Leatherhead looked confused for a moment. "Of course. Did I hurt you?"

Mikey shook his head without letting go of his friend.

"Leatherhead!" Mondo cried and ran into the hug, dragging Bebop along with him by the front of his vest.

"Hey, watch it!" Bebop snapped but didn't resist the warm arms around him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Honestly, I hate this chapter. Originally it was going to take place in South America and the crew there was going to deal with Fungus Humongous (the mushroom mutant that causes fear hallucinations) but I decided to have it happen in Australia because it made more sense because geography then this happened. No mushrooms. Also its terrible. It was very forced.

I'm considering writing a side story or a few chapters about the mushrooms but I don't want to overdo it on this story. I'm severely losing motivation for this story, I just need to pump out a few more chapters and work on the sequel which is coming soon. I want to focus on other stuff. The only actual stories I have on fanfiction are Four Corners stories. Originally I wrote Four Corners to take a break from another story, I want to work on more serious stuff. But do you guys want something about the mutants fighting their fears and the mushroom people?

Important Question: You know how on Fanfic there's a story section called "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" under the cartoons tab? Well, there's also one called "Ninja Turtles". As far as I can tell, there is no difference other than one has over three times the number of stories than the other. Under the world options, "Ninja Turtles" includes everything rather than just the shows. Is there a difference other than that? I'm considering tagging future stories as "Ninja Turtles" rather than "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" just because it seems there are more people over there. I'd really appreciate if someone told me if there was a difference that I don't know about.

Important Question 2: How do you feel about romance in the story? Just minor stuff, background stuff. I'm writing the sequel and some stuff is practically asking to be written. Specifically Karai and Casey as well as Rahzar and April. That isn't set in stone, I haven't really written it yet, I've just played around with it. I've just Personally, I'm not a huge fan of romance but I want to try my hand at writing some minor stuff. If no one responds then I'll just write it.

Speaking of responding, I've decided what to do with Leonardo so ignore what I said a few ANs ago.

Normally I update at the end of the week but I've had a bad day. Several actually, all in a row. So I decided to update the story. I think we lost a few readers but thanks to those who are still with us.

I had a dream where I got reviews. It was weird. I have a list of Reviewers, Favoriters, and Followers and a list of people who I consider fans of this story. On the last chapter, I plan on thanking those of you who I think deserve appreciation. I'm sure there are more of you, I'd like to know how you feel about the story and respond to the question above.

Anyway, about the chapter now. I don't know where they got the jeep, they had it in the original story. That was going to be one of the plot holes that I wrote about in this story but that's not in the plan right now. Just pretend they found it somewhere.

It is very hard to write Bebop's dialog and show his personality. It is basically impossible to do it with words, you need visuals. Since this is an AU, just assume that Bebop lived a different life leading up to this point and that resulted in different mannerisms. He's slightly older in this story than in the tv show and, as shown in a future chapter, he's from a different state. Mondo is hard to. Originally, Mondo was Jason then I decided to make Lars Mondo so his personality is going to be different in this story than the original.

That was a long AN. Do you guys actually read these things?


	21. Assistant Part 1

How did Bradford become Rockwell's assistant?

* * *

New York

14 Years Ago

"Christopher Bradford!" a hard voice echoed through the massive cave that was the Bradford Mansion.

A tall, well-dressed man, an elegant woman, a muscular young man, and a scruffy teenager stood over a small ten year old boy. A voluminous woman in a dress that someone of her weight should not we wearing stood off to the side, glaring, with an unhappy looking dog in her arms. The boy looked down at his feet, shuffling them uncomfortably at the gaze of his family.

"Well?" the man questioned. "What do you have to say for yourself, Christopher?"

"It's Chris," the boy mumbled.

"What was that? Speak up!"

"Nothing!" Chris said louder.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?" the man questioned.

"I'm sorry, Father," Chris said softly. His father grumbled. Chris wondered if he could tell he wasn't sorry. He wasn't the best lair.

The Bradford family and the large woman were standing in the dining room of the massive house he lived in, though not by choice. Chris and his brothers didn't seem to share their parents interest in nice things and the ways of the wealthy. Cooper and Brian looked almost as uncomfortable as Chris. Or maybe they were just bored. They got bored way too easily in Chris's opinion. Then again, his own attention span was almost nonexistent like other children of his age. Ten year olds couldn't be expected to focus that long.

Chris was currently being chastised for the way he spent his afternoon. Sneaking into the yard his neighbor Mrs. Galapaga and playing with her dog, whose name he did not know, through the mud. Needless to say, Mrs. Galapaga lived in the same luxurious way as the Bradford family and did not appreciate her prized pooch being covered in wet dirt.

"Tell that to Mrs. Galapaga, Christopher," his mother instructed.

The boy turned to the lady standing in his house and tried to muster the most sincere face that he could. "I'm sorry Mrs. Galapaga. It won't happen again."

The woman snorted and lifted her head up. The layers of fat on her body bounced. Chris grimace. Cooper and Brian mock gagged behind their parents' backs then began snickering.

"It most certainly will not," Mrs. Galapaga said, "because your parents will discipline you appropriately."

"We will?" the Bradford father questioned. Mrs. Galapaga gave him a harsh stare. He quickly nodded stiffly. "I mean of course we will! Be assured our boy will not cause you anymore trouble, ma'am."

Mrs. Galapaga sniffed again. "As to be expected. I shall take my leave now."

Once one of the servants lead the gluttonous woman away, Cooper and Brian gave another series snickers then were silenced by a glare from their mother.

"I expect better from you two," she said. "It's no wonder young Christopher gets into so much trouble. You boys are such bad influence!"

"I ain't no boy, ma," Brian said. "I'm twenty, I don't live here no more. I got my own job, I don't rely on you. You can't-"

"While you're under my roof, you'll abide my my rules, Brian," his mother said sharply.

Brian sighed.

"Why is Brian even here?" Chris asked. He hadn't seen his eldest brother in awhile, he didn't even know where he lived. Probably pretty far. He hadn't even realized his brother was home until his parents called the family together to scold Chris.

"I wish to discuss something with your brother," his mother told him. "But it's none of your concern. How we're going to punish you will."

Chris resisted the urge to sigh or roll his eyes. His parents' punishments were a joke.

His mother looked to his father. The man stroked his beard in thought.

"Perhaps we've been too easy on you," his father mused then looked at his youngest son. "This will be the last time, Christopher."

Chris swallowed. He didn't like the sound of that. But he still didn't have anything to worry about, right?

"I think I'll sleep on this," his father decided. "We'll discuss this tomorrow. Come to my study at 10 am sharp, boy."

"Um, I have school…"

"10 am!" his father shouted. "Sharp!"

* * *

"Christopher Bradford!" a woman's voice screamed.

"Sorry, sorry! I gotta go!" Bradford called as he raced out of his classroom. He threw a glance over his shoulder as he ran out of the door. It was 9:36. He had twenty four minutes to get home and meet his father. Unforgettably that meant running out of the room in the middle of class.

9:38- Running across campus.

9:40- Jogging in place when he waited at the street side for the road to clear.

9:48- Nearly tripping when the terrain changed from flat to uphill.

9:55- Struggling with the gate leading to his family's estate.

9:57- Thundering through the hallways.

9:59- Standing at the doorway to his father's study.

Chris was heaving by the time he pressed his palm against the wooden door. He nearly fell over when his weight against the door caused it to swing open.

"I'm here," Chris gasped and tried to stand up straight but found he couldn't and nearly collapsed on the floor. He could feel all the blood rushing to his face. His father was sitting behind a desk. He didn't say anything, merely rose an eyebrow, prompting him forward.

Chris noticed another man. A skinny, dark-haired man in a white lab coat. He eyed Chris with a mixed expression. Chris couldn't decipher what it meant due to his blurry, fading vision.

"Are you okay?" the scientist asked. He had a British accent.

"Peachy!" Chris got out and jerked up straight. He suddenly regretted the rapid motion. He felt like he was going to pass out.

"Alright then."

"Christopher, this is Tyler Rockwell," his father introduced. "He's a… uh…"

"I'm a neuroscientist and chemist for one of New York's scientific facilities," Rockwell explained. He somewhat hesitantly held out his hand. Chris shook it.

"Chris here is going to be your assistant," his father said.

"What?" Chris squeaked.

"What?" Rockwell said. "I never agreed to-"

The older man waved him off. "You're young, Rockwell, I doubt you can afford an assistant. Well, I'm paying you to take my boy. I don't care what you do with him. Just keep him out of trouble for me will you?"

"It sounds like what you need is a babysitter," Rockwell told him.

"I'm no baby!" Chris exclaimed.

"I wasn't implying that you were, my apologies. Hired caretaker for adolescents," Rockwell corrected. He looked at the boy. "Better?"

"Um. Sure."

"See, you're getting along already."

Rockwell and Bradford frowned and glanced at each other.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Chris's father asked. He shooed them. "Go on, get on with it."

"...what?"

"To your laboratory," Chris's father said.

"I can't take a kid to by lab!" Rockwell protested.

"It's yours, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah but I'm not- I can't do anything against the rules! I haven't been working at my company long enough to-"

"I'm paying you enough not to care," Chris's father said.

"I don't care about money! I've spent so many hours and hours in school to get this job, I'm not going to blow it for-"

"Ugh, you working type," Chris's father sighed. "You're a smart man Tyler, think of how rich I am. I can pay off your superiors if Christopher gets you into any trouble."

"I know you can but will you?" Rockwell grumbled suspiciously.

"Even if I don't, you'll have enough money to fund your own research," Chris's father said. "Why are you fighting me Tyler? You have nothing to lose from my proposition."

Rockwell sighed. "Come along Christopher."

Chris sighed as well and followed the scientist out of the room.

"I don't want to be here you know," Chris said as the two walked out of the mansion and towards Rockwell's car.

"I don't want you to be here either, I just didn't want to listen to your old man anymore," Rockwell told him.

"Oh. I don't like listening to him either," Chris said. The two walked in silence. Rockwell got out his keys as they approached his car. He got into the driver's seat while Chris got into the passenger seat.

"So… what science classes have you taken?"

"I'm in fifth grade," Chris told him.

"Great."

"Really?"

Rockwell let out a long sigh.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : This chapter is kinda meh. The next one is better. That's why its a two parter.

Chris has two brothers in this AU. There are some small details here that are expanded upon in the upcoming sequel.

Anyone want to name the dog?


	22. Assistant Part 2

How did Rockwell and Bradford mutate?

* * *

Several Months Later

Rockwell had to admit that the young Bradford was a good assistant despite his lack of experience and interest in science. He was a fast learner and he didn't make too many mistakes. But he was still a child and children do stupid things. Rockwell wasn't too old to have forgotten what it was like being a child, he was still rather young, so he was usually very forgiving when Chris did something ridiculous.

This was not one of those times.

Rockwell stood in his lab with his eyes shut as he rubbed his temple. "Tell me again why you thought it was a good idea to bring a dog to the lab."

The ten year old boy shuffled his feet. He held a happy looking dog in his arms. An akita, actually. The akita wiggled in his grip as Chris mumbled something.

"Speak up," Rockwell instructed.

"I was on my way here and I saw Mrs. Galapaga's dog trying to get out. I wasn't thinking. He always looks so miserable so I just grabbed him," Chris explained. "You like animals, right? Cooper told me that scientists don't like animals but you take good care of the chimpanzee."

Rockwell glanced back at the cage nestled into the wall. A chimpanzee sat in the middle of it grooming himself. Rockwell gave a faint smile. He didn't really need the chimp, none of his experiments were dangerous enough to need a lab animal to run tests on, he could often even run tests on himself, but he took the chimp in with hopes that he could provide him a better life than another scientist.

"The chimpanzee is a lab animal, the akita is a pet. It does not belong here," Rockwell told him.

"But I can't take him home!" Chris protested.

Rockwell sighed. The boy was right, he couldn't leave now or he'd be back late and Rockwell needed him to work. "Does the dog have a collar? The man down the hall has a dog, he may have a leash somewhere. Go ask him and tie the dog up."

Chris beamed. "Okay!"

Rockwell's gaze didn't linger long enough to see Chris dart out of the room. He turned back to the charts displayed on the wall and began looking over them. He suddenly felt like he was being watched. He looked over and saw the chimpanzee staring at him.

Rockwell sighed and walked over to the cage. The primate made its way forward and gripped the bars. Rockwell reached in and rubbed the chimp's head. "I don't know what I did to deserve my first assistant to be like him."

* * *

"Why are we going up on the roof?" Chris asked as he followed Rockwell up the building's stairs. "Don't you study brains and stuff?"

"Don't question it," Rockwell told him.

"Why?"

"We're setting up an encephalon electron frequency reader that scans the neurotic electric vibrancy in the mass populous' brains. Did you understand any of that?"

"Um, no."

"That's why you don't ask questions."

"You're kind of a jerk sometimes, you know that?"

Rockwell paused and gave a peculiar look at the boy trailing behind him.

"I mean, you're super nice and all. Most grown ups are pretty mean. Kids too, I guess. And you're smart. That's why you're a jerk. You think you know everything and I'm dumb because I'm a kid."

Rockwell, to his surprise, didn't really have any feelings about what the kid said. "I don't think you're dumb and I certainly don't know everything. And yes, as you say, grown ups are jerks. Especially where I'm from," Rockwell told him. He thought for a moment. "I don't really mind being a jerk but now that I think of it, I don't want to end up like my folks back home."

Chris gave a laugh. Rockwell didn't know why.

"Wanna make a deal?" Chris asked. Deciding to humor the kid, Rockwell said yes. "I'll make sure you don't become a jerk if you make sure I don't act like some dumb kid."

"Why would you want to give up the joys of youth?" Rockwell asked, surprised once again. He wasn't fond of kids but he remembered how much he loved being one.

"I'm not. I'm just being a good kid."

Rockwell couldn't say no to that. "Fine."

"Shake on it?"

"We're going up stairs. You're standing behind me."

"Oh right. But when we reach the top?"

"I don't know when was the last time that you washed your hands."

"If I wash my hands?"

"There isn't a restroom or a sink up there."

"Dang!"

Rockwell chuckled as they reached the top of the stairs. He pushed the door open and the two were soon on the rooftop. The young scientist held a disk under his arm. Chris held several cords and an antenna.

"Let's get this scanner setup, shall we?" Rockwell said. He paused and looked at his assistant. "Chris?"

Chris was gaping at the horizon. "It's so beautiful…"

"You've never been on a roof before?" Rockwell asked. He looked out at the city. The view looked normal to him. New York skyscrapers in the distance, the bright, blue sky overhead, streets backed up with cars.

Chris nodded. "My parents never let me climb on anything. Its 'un-gentlemanly'."

Rockwell sympathized. "Tell you what, you can come up here whenever you want."

"Thanks."

* * *

Rockwell sat at his desk blinking tiredly, struggling to keep his head up. He picked up his cup of coffee and took a large gulp. He loved coffee. It was the only thing that kept him going on long work nights like this one.

Chris had gone home while ago. Most of the scientists at the research facility had. Rockwell didn't really like working in the same building as so many separate researchers. That's why he loved the nights, there weren't many people around. Except the chimpanzee of course. For some reason he enjoyed his company more than other people's. Rockwell wasn't really a people person.

Just as he had that thought, the chimpanzee began chattering excitedly. Rockwell looked up from his work and shot a tired smile in the ape's direction. He expected him to calm in a few seconds but the chimp kept chattering and began racing around the small cage.

Alarmed, Rockwell got to his feet and went to the lab animal. "What's the matter?"

The chimpanzee paused and pressed up against the bars, trying to get close to the scientist. Rockwell rubbed his hand on its head. He stepped away, thinking that everything was fine, but the chimp began screeching to get his attention again.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. The chimp let out a loud sound. Rockwell grabbed a ring of keys from the opposing side of the room. Fumbling with weary hands, he unlocked the cage.

The chimp immediately jumped down and took Rockwell's hand in his own. The scientist had to stoop down a little due to their height difference. The chimp tugged on his hand and began pulling him towards the door. Rockwell grabbed a flashlight with his free hand on their way out.

The chimp began dragging Rockwell up the stairs. Once they reached the top, Rockwell once again had to fumble with his keys to open the door leading to the roof. The chimp shook with fear. Rockwell rubbed his head comfortingly before pushing the door open.

Rockwell stepped onto the roof with the chimp following close behind. He held up the flashlight and turned it on. He immediately heard a yelp.

"Who's there?!" a familiar voice shouted.

"Chris?" Rockwell questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"You said I could come up here whenever I want," Chris said, blocking his eyes with his hand from the brightness of the flashlight. The akita stood by his feet. It yapped loudly at the chimpanzee. The chimp coiled back a bit and flashed his white teeth. "I wanted to show him the view."

"I meant at a reasonable hour," Rockwell said. "How'd you even get up here? You don't have the keys."

Chris shrugged. Rockwell sighed and massaged his temple. The things this boy did… It was a wonder he ever got anything done with him around.

"It's late," Rockwell said. "You should get heading home."

"You're still here," Chris pointed out.

"I'm conducting an important experiment," Rockwell told him.

"That still doesn't mean you shouldn't be at home."

"Fine," Rockwell said, "I'll go home once I get the chimpanzee back in his cage. Happy?"

"Yes."

"Come on, buddy," Rockwell said to the chimpanzee. He tried coaxing him back towards the stairs but the animal ignored him. "Bud?"

The chimp continued to ignore him. He took a few paces forwards then let out a fearful whine.

"We found Chris," Rockwell said. "Everything's fine now, we can go back."

The chimp crouched down then tipped its head before darting back behind Rockwell as if hiding.

"What's gotten into you?" Rockwell murmured. Suddenly, a terrible noise filled the air. Rockwell screamed and covered his ears. Chris and the chimp did the same while the akita began barking.

"What is that?" Chris yelled. "One of your experiments?"

"No!" Rockwell yelled back. "Maybe someone else's?"

Rockwell's eyes scanned the area for the source of the sound. He moved the flashlight around, trying to spot something. It didn't take long for the light to find something. Or rather a lack of something. The light shone as it always did but it cast a strangely shaped shadow, signifying that there was something blocking it.

"What is that?" Chris asked.

"I- I don't know," Rockwell said. If not for the sound shattering his eardrums, he'd be intrigued by the invisible object.

Chris suddenly picked up a loose brick and chucked it towards the object. The air distorted for a few moments, flickering between nothingness and some silver object. Finally it solidified.

The noise stopped. Thankfulness did not strike Rockwell's mind. His brain was too busy trying to register the fact that a _spaceship_ was sitting before him.

The spaceship was silver with a pink glow emanating from various parts of it. It had a large round base with a long point sticking out of the center of either side. And it had tentacles.

Rockwell stared for a few moments, stunned. Everyone was, even the animals. Chris recovered first.

"There's a spaceship on our roof?" Chris questioned. "Cool! How did we not know about this? With all the scientists up here on the roof all the time, you'd think someone would have found it before us. Unless it just got here. Or one of them was hiding it. Pretty dumb spot to hide a spaceship though."

Chris continued to chatter excitedly as he began walking up to the ship. Rockwell snapped to his senses. "Chris wait!"

Chris paused a moment and looked back at the scientist. As he did so, a panel dropped out of the ship. Chris glanced at the ship then ran back to hide behind Rockwell with the chimpanzee and the akita. Rockwell silently wished he wasn't the adult here. It meant he had to be the responsible one, the protector.

Light leaked from the opening and shadows began sliding out. Rockwell took a step back. "Hide!"

"Where?" Chris whispered. He looked back at the door. It was closed again. It locked automatically and it would take too long to unlock it.

"Quick! Follow me!" Rockwell hissed and grabbed Chris and the chimp's hands. He pulled the two behind the structure that covered the stairway and ducked down. The akita ran up to them and pressed against Chris. Chris put his hand over the dog's muzzle to keep it from barking. The chimpanzee, clearly terrified, clutched onto Rockwell for comfort.

Rockwell pressed his back against the wall with one arm around the chimp and his eyes squeezed shut. His scientific mind wanted him to peek out from around the corner to see what was going on. Were there actually aliens or was this some kind of prank? The chimpanzee had sensed it and seemed scared out of his wits, it had to be real.

Metal footsteps echoed through the night air.

"Kraang's sensors detects that which is known as Earth life forms near the place known as the Kraang Stealth Ship."

"Kraang will investigate."

"Kraang needs that which is known as test subjects."

"Kraang will retrieve that which is known as mutagen for that which is known as test subjects that will soon be known as that which is known as mutants."

Rockwell swallowed hard. The chimpanzee shivered fearfully beside him. Rockwell squeezed his eyes shut. This seemed so real. He wasn't the religious type but he began praying to whatever god was out there that this was a dream.

He heard a heavy sound above him. He opened his eyes slowly and risked a glance upward. He let out a shrill scream.

Upon the structure he hid behind stood a thin metal figure. It was remarkably human shaped but he wasn't focused on that. The robotic being had a massive pink blob in its abdomen that was jiggling around with its movements.

The robot- or Kraang as it called itself- held a weapon of sorts in its hands. Similar to a gun but the end pointed out was jagged and there was a glowing streak cutting through it.

"Kraang has found those which are known as Earth life forms that are known as test subjects and soon to be known as mutants."

Rockwell was paralyzed in his fear. It seemed his companions were too, no one made a move. Not even when a second Kraang appeared above them beside the first. It held a glowing canister in its arms.

"Prepare to be what is known as mutated."

Rockwell finally got it together. He got to his feet with the chimp still clutching onto him and bolted. He was still in enough of the right of mind to avoid just leaping off the roof but he didn't have many options. He looped around the structure and made a break for the door. He pulled his keys out of the pocket of this lab coat and jammed them into the keyhole.

"That which is known as test subject cannot that which is hope to escape."

Rockwell looked up. He hadn't actually run that far, just to the other side of the structure, the Kraang still stood over him. One Kraang was staring down at him, the other doing the same on the other side with Chris and the akita.

The Kraang lifted its arms and dropped the canister down. Time seemed to slow, Rockwell could only see the glowing cylinder tumbling towards him. It stuck him in the head. He screamed as it shattered, splattering the contents all over him and the chimpanzee.

He felt the chimpanzee's grip loosen as the chimp fell off to the side. His screams filled his ears. Or they may have been Rockwell's own screams. He couldn't focus on anything other than the agony spreading through his body.

At first it felt like he'd gotten hit with an acid bath. It felt like his muscles in his limbs were melting right down to the bones. But everything else felt like someone had connected his body parts to a bike pump and began inflating him. His hands felt like they were being broken into a new shape, his chest felt like it was being ripped out of his body as it expanded, his face felt like someone was trying to tear it apart.

The worst of it was his skin. It felt like it was on fire. Like there were a million fire ants loaded with stingers were spreading across his body, stringing him along their journey.

He could faintly hear Chris's screams as well. If he wasn't so focused on his own pain, he'd worry about the boy. No one deserved this, let alone a child.

The screams suddenly turned to howls but Rockwell didn't dwell on it. It felt like his brain was being electrocuted. If he'd been looking around instead of staring into the ground with strained eyes, he'd see the air conditioning unit on the roof being torn from its bolts and fly into the air where it collided with a speeding flashlight.

"This is that which is known as an unforeseen result."

"That which is known as mutant previously known as test subject has that which is known as a unique reaction to that which is known as mutagen."

"That which is known as Kraang scanner detects enhanced neurological pathways in that which is known as mutant."

"That which is known as the brain of that which is known as mutant has energies that Kraang has never encountered."

"Kraang must study that which is known as mutant brain."

Rockwell broke into another scream as a wave of pain rushed through his body, originating at his head. The Kraang were lifted into the air before being slammed back down. Each time a ripple spread through him, the Kraang soared into the sky and pummeled back down until they were no more than scrap metal. Pink blobs emerged from the twisted bodies and ran off, squealing.

Finally the pair exceeded its unbearable state and the spots in his vision began to grow until everything went black and his head hit the cement.

* * *

Rockwell woke to sunlight hitting his eyes. He groaned and shifted then winced. His head was pounding like a bad hangover. He briefly wondered what had happened last night until he felt something furry on his face. He blinked his eyes open and saw the tan tail of an akita.

"What are you doing?" Rockwell murmured and tried to push the tail off of him.

"Hmm?" the akita said. "Woah! The chimp can talk!"

Rockwell was stunned for a moment. The dog was speaking! Then the words hit him. "The chimp? I'm a human, you dolt! Its Rockwell!"

Rockwell sat up and came face to face with…

"My word!"

"What in the actual f-!"

"You're hideous!"

The massive, wide face of a dog stared back at him with dark eyes.

"Dude!" the dog said. "You're a chimp!"

"What? No I'm not…" Rockwell looked down at his hands. They were huge! Then he saw his arms. They were covered with thick, black hair. His hands went to his face. He gasped. His feature were… wrong. Larger, more primitive. He looked back at the akita with wide eyes. "Where's Chris?"

"Wha? I'm Chris," the dog said. Rockwell wanted to wail in despair but withheld. He was the adult here, he couldn't break down. But the Bradfords were so going to kill him…

Rockwell blinked as everything hit him. He was a chimpanzee. Chris was a dog. They were freaks of science. Everyone was going to think he was some mad scientist who experimented on people! No, that wasn't even his greatest concern right now. What would they think when they saw him? Scientists thought it was okay to experiment on chimpanzees… what would they do to him now that he was one?

"Where's the lab chimp?" Rockwell asked suddenly. "And that akita?"

Chris shrugged but his movements were sluggish. In surprise he looked down at his body. He was still somewhat humanoid but he looked far more like a dog than a human. His face was wide and one of his arms bulged with muscle. Pointed stones jutted out from his body. But that wasn't even the most bizarre thing. He was huge! At least a dozen times the size he used to be. "Woah! What am I?"

Rockwell tapped his chin in thought. "Those robotic creatures, they called us mutants. I suspect that we mutated into whatever creature whose DNA we were in most recent contact with."

Chris gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. "Do you think I absorbed Mrs. Galapaga's dog?"

Rockwell froze for a moment. If somehow his beloved chimpanzee was absorbed into his body, he'd never forgive himself. He stared at his new body a few seconds, scrutinizing it. It didn't have any of the personal defining traits of his lab chimp. "I don't think so."

"Thank god," Chris exhaled. "If I-"

Chris was cut off by the sound of a siren in the distance. Rockwell felt a sudden pain in his head and was filled with panic. He froze and fell to his hands and knees, gasping.

"Rockwell!" Chris said in alarm. "What's wrong?"

Rockwell clutched his head. "My brain… it feels like…"

Rockwell trailed off and stared off into the distance. Across the street, a woman stared right at him with her phone to her ear. The sirens grew closer.

"We've been spotted," Rockwell said urgently. He tried to get to his feet but collapsed as he was struck with another wave of pain and emotion. He grit his teeth, trying to keep himself from crying out. "You have to run."

"I'm not leaving you," Chris insisted. "Try and get up!"

Rockwell tried to stand again but was racked with more pain. "I can't," he gasped. "I think I… I think my mind was enhanced somehow. Its like I can feel everyone around me in my head."

"We don't have time for you to get that under control right now," Chris said with sudden authority. He reached down with his larger arm and grabbed Rockwell and set him on his back. Rockwell's weight rested on between a stone and the mutant's powerful back. He wrapped his arms around him the best he could.

Chris ran at the side of the building and jumped off. Rockwell shut his eyes, not wanting to see them fall. Thankfully they didn't fall to fast. Chris outstretched one arm and dug the stone sticking out of his right arm's paw into the fall creating friction and slowing their descent.

They still hit the ground heavily due to their combined weight and Chris's heavy gait. Chris looked around. They were now standing on the street. It was just after sunrise so there weren't many pedestrians but they were still present. People on the street screamed and ran away at the sight of them while cars sped away. "Where to?"

Rockwell almost said the lab but knew they couldn't return despite still being right next to the building. His first instinct was to go home but he lived too far and his apartment wasn't big enough to hold Chris at the moment. His second instinct was to race around the city in search of his chimpanzee but he knew that wasn't a good idea. He could only hope that his mutation wasn't too painful or damaging and that he knew how to take care of himself.

His mind scrambled for a solution. The sirens grew louder. He knew that it was the police coming after them. He mentally kicked himself into thinking faster.

"Falco," he said.

"What?"

"My colleague, Falco," Rockwell said. "I trust him, he might be of some aid. But in the meantime we need to get out of here and find some disguises."

Chris gave a nod and bunched up his leg muscles.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll see," he grinned. "Hang on tight."

Chris leaped into the air and soared to the next building. They landed heavily once more. Rockwell's heart raced with adrenaline. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Anyone want to name the chimp and the akita?

By the way, in case you didn't know for whatever reason, Dogpound is a mutant akita and Rahzar is a super mutant akita, not a wolf. An akita is a kind of dog.

If you remember, Rockwell (originally called Monkey Brains, I think) was an empath and developed his other powers later. Rockwell had a hard time moving around because he was overwhelmed by everything he was feeling and he didn't know how to telekinetically move himself yet.

In the tv show, the whole chimpanzee situation confused me. Rockwell got mutated into a chimp but that meant there had to be a nonmutant chimp there at some point. I wanna know what happened to it. Anyway, Rockwell is younger at this point in the story (24, I think) and he wasn't always such a jerk so he's got a bond with the chimp.

Falco also has an important role in this story. From the very beginning, I planned on the last chapter being about Falco.

Heads up, the next chapter does not want to be written. Its been a couple weeks in progress I think and its not really coming along so I don't know when it'll be here but hopefully this longer chapter will make up for it. I didn't actually plan on writing this originally but I felt like the previous chapter needed more and I got some motivation. It is a chapter that I planned awhile ago but have forgotten about several times but is a vital one to write.

Sorry for not updating for awhile. I thought I already uploaded this chapter, then I realized that I didn't then I forgot about it.


	23. Reintroduction Part 1

How did Mikey end up in Australia?

* * *

New York

10 Years Ago

Four small rabbit cages sat lined up beside each other on a table. They were each perfect barred cubes with a young mutant turtle crammed into each one. The cages would've probably been a tight fit for a rabbit and they were far too small for the brothers.

On the farthest end, the smallest turtle, the one with the orange mask, was retracting into his shell. Some of his pain was relieved now that his neck wasn't craned to keep his head down from hitting the roof of the cage. His limbs were still pressed against the bars though. There wasn't enough room for his shell either.

"Mikey, stop," Donnie whispered from the cage beside him. He was the most lanky of them all, he looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Why?" Mikey asked.

"Turtles only go into their shells when they're scared," Donnie told him. "We don't want them to think we're scared."

"But I am scared," Mikey said as his eyes began welling. Fresh tears threatened to fall down his already tear stained face. "The bad people hurt Master Splinter! And they won't let us see him! And they put us in these little cages!"

Donnie quickly began hushing his little brother but he wasn't quick enough. One of the 'bad people' walked over and slammed his elbow against the cage causing it to rattle the turtle inside.

"Shut up!" the Foot Soldier barked. Mikey began sniffing and withdrew into his shell even more.

Mikey closed his eyes within the comfort of his shell. He could vaguely hear Donnie trying to get his attention but he wasn't listening. He slowly cried himself into a dark dreamless sleep.

* * *

Mikey awoke to the sound of screaming. Then darkness. He panicked for a few moments before remembering he'd fallen asleep in his shell. Groggily, he poked his head out. And then he suddenly wished he hadn't.

Next to him, Donnie was screaming and crying again. He couldn't see Raph's cage since it was on Donnie's other side but Mikey could hear similar sounds coming from his red clad brother.

Mikey was confused. The two were looking at something. Mikey followed their gaze and his heart dropped.

"Leo!" Mikey cried out. Leo, still in his cage, was struggling furiously as a Foot Soldier picked him up and carried him away. Mikey's wails were ineligible. The Foot Soldiers ignored the turtles and several fell in step behind the one carrying the eldest turtle off.

* * *

Within the hour, Raph had been carried off followed by Donnie leaving Mikey sitting alone in the tiny cage on the empty table. The room had previously been packed but now only a handful of Foot Soldiers remained.

The Foot Soldiers seemed uninterested in him. On the other side of the room, a few of them leaned against the door frame having a light conversation. A Foot Soldier lifted up the bottom of his mask to reveal his mouth so he could consume the contents of a styrofoam cup.

Mikey caught a view of the lower half of the man's face. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the pale skin and the sharp jaw. A human. Splinter had warned the turtles of them but Mikey had never took the warnings seriously. He always thought his father was just telling them stuff to keep them out of trouble. But now all the stories and warnings were rushing back to him, scaring him out of his skin.

Trembling, Mikey withdrew back into his shell but kept a watchful eye on the lounging Foot Soldiers. It didn't look like they were going to do anything but he wanted to be ready.

Mikey didn't know how long he sat like that but it was long enough for him to get even more stiff than he already was. He shifted around in his shell.

"So what should we do with it?" one of the Foot Soldiers spoke up after a while. It took a moment for Mikey to realize he was talking about him. He gave a small whine and tried to shrink back even more to no avail.

"I don't really want to deal with it," another soldier said. "We've wasted too much time on these freaks anyway."

"Shhh, don't say that," another soldier instructed. "You know how serious the boss is about this thing."

"I'll just deal with it," a fourth soldier said. He grabbed Mikey's cage roughly and headed towards the door.

"What are you going to deal with it?"

"Same thing I did with that stupid little dog my old lady had," the soldier said.

"Which is…?"

"Takin' it out to them Canadian forests. Leave it there to starve and tell the boss it's gone for good."

"Ooh. Good one."

Mikey gave another whine. The soldier ignored him and walked outside right up to a large white truck. Mikey's cage was shoved into the passenger seat while the soldier sat at the driver's seat. With a roar of the engine, the truck slowly began wheeling north.

* * *

Mikey remained in his shell for the ride despite his childish curiosity begging him to stand up and look out the window that he knew was above him. He didn't want to show himself to the human. They were just as scary as Splinter had said. Worse even.

The driving Foot Soldier was playing the radio, listening to something called polka. If the sound wasn't muffled by his shell, Mikey was sure his ears would be bleeding but his fear of the human kept him from whining. As if to increase the turtle's suffering, the Foot Soldier was singing along. It was horrible. And this lasted hours.

Finally, the truck pulled off on the side of the road and the torturous radio turned off. Mikey gave a small sigh of relief then stiffened again when he felt his cage being lifted. He was facing the Foot Soldier and the soldier was carrying him at stomach level so he couldn't see anything out of the opening of his shell.

With a heave, the soldier tossed the cage as hard as he could. Mikey didn't fly far but the impact made his bones jolt. He heard the soldier muttering as he climbed back into the truck and took off.

* * *

Mikey didn't know how long he sat in his shell too scared to some out but time was hard on his small body and enough had passed already. Knowing that the Foot Soldier was gone, the youngest turtle popped his head out of his shell and looked around with his bright blue eyes. His face was still stained with tears but it was clear that the crying had ended awhile ago.

The first thing he saw were the bars of the cage. He still couldn't go anywhere.

The second thing he saw were trees. Big trees, nothing like the one in the dojo. As much as he loved that sturdy thing, all the trees made him gasp and gape in amazement. They were like nothing he'd ever seen. And there were so many! The word forest came to mind.

Mikey's stomach growled. He patted his hand against it. He hadn't eaten in what felt like forever. It was very early morning when the Foot Clan attacked his home and it was nearly noon now. And he'd used up a lot of energy by struggling.

Mikey tried pushing the hatch on the door open to no avail. He tried kicking the bars but only ended up with a sore foot. Tears welled in his eyes from frustration and his pent up emotions.

"Hello?" Mikey called through cupped hands into the forest. "Is anyone there? I'm stuck!"

Mikey heard his voice echo. He looked around optimistically as if expecting someone to just walk out of the bushes. His faith died as his echo did. He tried a few more times, his hopefulness fading with each shout.

Finally, he gave up, voice tired, and leaned back against the bars in exhaustion. Today was not a good day. He closed his eyes and slipped back into the world of sleep, hoping this was all just a nightmare.

* * *

Mikey woke to the sounds of voices.

"Hey, what is that?"

"Looks like a cage."

"Is that supposed to be a turtle?"

"Some kid must've lost its toy. Weird looking turtle."

"Woah, its moving!"

Mikey's eyes bolted open with a start as he stared at his observers. Two humans stood over his cage, peering down at him. Mikey whimpered and withdrew into his shell.

One of the humans got down on one knee. "Don't worry, little guy. We're not here to hurt you."

Mikey heard something grinding against his cage but he didn't poke his head out to see what it was.

Finally the sound stopped and the human gave a sigh. "It's no use, I can't get it open. Rusty, you got anything to pick a lock with."

"Yeah, I should have a bobby pin- no, wait- I don't. Because I ain't no girl, idiot."

"Calm down, man. It was just a question. You got a phone on you? We should call animal control or a park ranger or something."

"Why? It's just a trapped animal. Hunting ain't illegal 'round here, Rudy."

"Rusty, you ever see a turtle like this one? He's gotta be an endangered animal or something, no way its legal to hunt one of these guys. Just give me your freaking phone."

"Fine, fine."

Rudy tapped a few buttons before the phone began ringing. It took a few moments for someone to answer but Mikey couldn't hear the other end.

"Hello, animal control?" Rudy spoke into the phone. "I'm off the 401 right now, taking a walk with my brother and we found an animal of sorts in a cage… A turtle… Yes, a turtle… Its real peculiar looking one, never seen anything like it. Thought you'd just like to know 'cause it's in a cage. Thought it might be one of those new endangered species I keep hearing 'bout… Yes… No… 401… Alrighty. Thanks… Seeya then."

"What'd they say?" Rusty asked.

"Animal control sending someone," Rudy told him. "Didn't sound overly excited though. They just wanted to get the animal out of the cage. But you were wrong, man. Hunting is illegal 'round here."

"That's too bad," Rusty said. "Saw some fat lookin' animals in the forest. Thought maybe we could come back with the guns and shhot up some-"

"Man, don't say that 'round the turtle," Rudy said. "He's an animal too."

"It ain't like he can understand us," Rusty said. Rusty pulled something out of his pocket. "Smoke?"

"Thanks," Rudy accepted. The two brothers leaned against the tree closest to Mikey's cage, smoking cigarettes. Mikey wrinkled his nose in disgust. That was not a nice smell. Of all the people to come save him it had to be these two.

* * *

The next few days were a blur for Mikey. It could've been days or months for all he knew. Rudy and Rusty had waited for him until this truck showed up then a bunch of humans began yelling. Then he was taken to some smelly old building until another truck took him to a big fancy one where a bunch of people in white coats jabbed him with a bunch of needles.

Mikey got real tired after that. He woke up sore and the lab coat people shined a bunch of lights in his eyes and poked around in his mouth, making him gag. The they'd jab him with more needles and he'd fall asleep again. Each time he woke up, more and more pain spread through his body.

One day, he woke up and he wasn't in the lab anymore. He wasn't even in his cage. Well, he was still trapped in something but it was bigger. And it wasn't metal. A smooth tan material walled him on three sides. There were a lot of holes. They weren't big enough for him to get out of but he was sure that he cold stick his hand out of one if he wanted to. The fourth side, however, was also made of metal but it was some kind of mesh rather than bars.

Mikey blinked heavily, partly from tiredness, partly from confusion. As his vision blurred back, he saw two men standing in front of him.

One was a short, well-dressed man. The other was one all too familiar to Mikey. It was one of the scientists.

Ever since leaving the two people who had found him in the forest, all the humans spoke some strange language that Mikey didn't understand. He didn't like it. It sounded wrong in his ears.

The short guy and the scientist seemed to be arguing. They kept gesturing at Mikey. The short guy had a map in one hand. He thrust his finger in it and pointed at Mikey as he yelled at the scientist.

That caught Mikey's attention. "Do you want to get be out of here, mister?"

The two turned and looked at him. Mikey shrank back, regretting that he spoke. But the two didn't seem to be able to understand him either. They resumed their argument.

Mikey sighed and sat back in the cage. It seemed this time he wouldn't be able to escape into the realm of sleep to avoid reality.

* * *

This continued for a few days. Or maybe not. Mikey still didn't have a very good concept of time. All he knew was that several people came in and passed through the room he was in often. Sometimes they gave him food. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. It wasn't algae and worms like Splinter always gave him. At first he'd been excited to try the new food but it looked and smelled weird and he got tired of it quickly.

The short guy and the scientist came in a lot too, sometimes alone, sometimes together. Alone more often than not. Together usually meant arguing.

The room was pretty empty other than the table where Mikey's kennel rested but the short man was able to cross it with his quick strides. Mikey liked when he visited. He was sure that he was trying to get him away from those scientists. He didn't understand why he didn't just free him but he didn't understand the ways of humans, he was sure he had a reason.

The short guy spoke in those words that Mikey couldn't understand but the turtle had gotten pretty good at understanding the tone. He usually sounded pretty caring, unlike that scientist guy. He always sounded cold and he never actually spoke directly to Mikey.

Mikey never spoke back when the short guy talked to him. Mikey still wasn't totally comfortable around the human and he didn't seem to know any English anyway.

One day, the short guy entered and began speaking in an excited tone to the turtle. Mikey's eyes brightened and got to his feet, not knowing what was happening but sensing that something was going to.

A team of men in matching uniforms entered. Mikey coiled back slightly. The short guy murmured in a reassuring tone and Mikey relaxed a bit.

A pair of the men lifted up his kennel and lowered it onto a cart. The short guy, he seemed to be their boss or something, waved them away and crouched down to look at Mikey. He didn't have to crouch far to be at his level. He still wore his nice clothes, he took the care not to wrinkle them much.

"Au revoir tortue," he said softly. "J'espère que tu vis une bonne vie."

And with that, Mikey was wheeled off and out of the building. Mikey beamed at the sight of a naturally lit environment. It had been so long since he'd seen sunlight. Or plants. Everything was so beautiful.

The men pushing the cart didn't linger to allow him to gaze. They pushed him down the cemented ground leading out the door of the building.

They passed between buildings, much to Mikey's annoyance. He wanted to keep looking at the trees and bushes.

The men pushed the cart until the ground changed color and became smooth. Mikey's cage only had a view out one side and he was facing away from whatever they were heading towards.

Mikey felt his kennel being lifted and he was taken inside again. Immediately, he sensed that this wasn't a regular building.

Mikey's kennel was put down and strapped down, leaving the turtle confused. Why were they strapping him down? It wasn't like he was going to fall off the seat. A seat… that brought up more questions. Mikey wasn't much of a thinker, he tried not to think about it too much.

One of the men sat down on the seat beside him and put an arm atop his kennel. Mikey scooted away from him as much as possible.

After awhile, Mikey heard the sound of an engine starting. It startled him. He jumped in surprise and knocked his shell against the side of the kennel. Mikey looked around for the car or truck that was surely making the sound. The man beside him looked at him, concerned, and murmured a few words. Mikey rubbed his side and tried to settle down again.

That didn't happen. Just as he sat back down, he felt something move. It took a moment but he realized that it was the room that was moving. And not only were they moving forward, they were moving up.

"Se détendre," the man told him. "nous sommes dans un avion."

Mikey did not understand the man's words but he sounded calm so he calmed and tried to relax as the plane ride began.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Mikey is very hard to write. Especially since he is scared and emotional for the entirety of this chapter.

I know that not everyone speaks french in Canada, I just needed a good reason for the humans to think Mikey was just an animal and not a mutant. Also I don't speak French so any errors are due to Google Translate. The line translates to "Goodbye turtle. Hope you have a good life."

If you couldn't follow what happened, the scene at the beginning is the same one as in Collected and mentioned in Crazy Humans. That's the scene that happens directly after the first chapter in the original story. The four turtles were carried off from the lair then four groups of Foot Soldiers took them off. Mikey was carried off to Canada and left there where he was found by two random dudes. They called animal control who recognized that he wasn't a normal animal so they sent him to a lab where he was experimented on until a rich environmentalist bought him off them. Now Mikey's been put on a plane and is being flown off to who knows where.


	24. Reintroduction Part 2

Africa

16 Hours Later

Mikey was jerked awake by his kennel smacking against the wall. The man who'd been sitting next to him put his hand on the kennel and murmured some words of concern.

Mikey let out a yawn. The flight had been a long one, there was no way he'd be able to stay awake all that time. He was just a child after all.

The next hour or so was chaotic and confusing for the young turtle. Humans that looked like none he'd ever seen came into the bay of the plane where he was and stared at him, chattering excitedly. They spoke with the man beside him in that language that Mikey didn't understand and conversed with each other on another one that Mikey didn't understand. It hurt his head. Why didn't everyone just speaking the same language? Then again, these humans looked different. Birds and mice sounded different, Mikey supposed that it made sense that these darker humans sounded different from the lighter humans that he was used to.

Once again, a cart was wheeled in and Mikey's kennel was loaded on before being wheeled back out. As he rolled down the ramp out of the plane, Mikey got a glimpse of the surrounding area. It made him gasp. It was so different!

The first thing he noticed was the lack of city sounds, smells, and colors. It wasn't familiar, he knew he'd never seen it before, but the terrain seemed to call out to his instincts in a way that the city never could.

The next thing he noticed was the ground. Other than runway, the ground was all a hard, dry, compact dirt lined with tall, dry grasses. That was the one thing he didn't like about this place, it felt so dry and he hadn't even looked around that much. And it was hot.

Thankfully he wasn't outside for long. The woman pushing his cart got him indoors within seconds. Mikey didn't have long to miss that feeling he'd gotten outside. He was pushed through a long series of corridors and hallways until he reached a large, glass walled room.

Someone lifted up his kennel and brought it into the room. Mikey, curious yet anxious and fearful of the sudden changes that had been going on, shivered and gave a whimper. He heard some soft, comforting words in that language that he didn't understand again.

Before he had time to process what was happening, Mikey's kennel was on the ground. And the door was open. Mikey stared at it a moment in shock, not knowing what to do. He'd been caged for weeks, maybe longer. And now he was being let out?

Mikey shrank back to the back of his kennel, embracing the familiarity of it despite how much he hated being trapped in it.

The humans in the room began speaking to each other in urgent tones then quieted. Mikey couldn't see them but he felt their gazes piercing the kennel wall behind him and boring into him. He didn't like that. He let out a whine, his language skills forgotten for the moment.

He sat like that in the cage with his shell pressed against the back of the cage, the humans watching him from the doorway, and whatever lay outside the open door of his kennel taunting him to come out and explore.

Eventually, the humans seemed to get impatient. One of the humans split from the group. The sound of movement increased Mikey's anxiety and he began cowering more than he already was. He wished one of his brothers were here. They were the brave ones, not him. Raph would scare or fight off anyone who came close. Leo would protect him and reassure him that everything was alright. Donnie would rattle of some explanation to Mikey explaining why nothing bad could happen or think of someone way to escape the danger.

Or they'd be just as scared. Mikey shook that thought out of his head. He couldn't doubt his brothers, they were the source of his strength.

The human coming towards him wasn't moving too fast. Mikey was grateful for that but it also made him uneasy. The human walked past the covered sides of his cage and circled around to the front so that Mikey could see his feet.

The human crouched down with equal speed as his walk. A face peered into the kennel. Mikey froze. He took a deep breath and gather up all the courage that he could.

"Get back!" Mikey yelled and feigned a lunge. The human flinched back. Mikey let a smirk slide onto his face, the closest thing to a smile in forever. But it didn't last long. It disappeared as a grin formed on the human's face. He let out a laugh, to Mikey's annoyance.

Mikey showed his teeth and growled. Donnie had read about dogs in a book and told Mikey all about them, they were as fierce as Raph. He saw them on TV once, Mikey loved them. They could go from adorable to scary in seconds. He liked to think that he was like them.

Apparently this human didn't think so. He stretched out his arm and reached his open palm into the kennel. Mikey tried moving father back to no avail. He stared at the hand for a moment. His gaze flickered to the human's face. He nearly flinched as they made eye contact. The human's eyes were so much like his father's.

The eyes relaxed him a bit. His speeding heart rate slowed but he didn't make any attempt to move forward. The turtle just kept staring at the hand. What did the human expect him to do?

The human eventually gave up on this too with a sigh and reached into his pocket. Mikey braced, his training taught him to expect a weapon. To his surprise, the hand reappeared holding a long orange object with a green, leafy end rather than a shuriken.

Mikey stared at it a moment then looked up at the human. The human smiled at him. Mikey didn't react.

He sat in the back of the cage until the human set the orange thing down outside his cage. His stomach growled. He sniffed a few times, detecting an unfamiliar yet appetizing scent. His senses zeroed in on the orange object. The word carrot came to mind.

Mikey hesitantly crawled forward. He reached for the carrot. He winced as his finger brushed the surface of it. Seeing that it didn't explode or anything, he picked it up. He twirled it around in his hand a few times, inspecting it, before biting into it.

It wasn't bad. He actually rather liked it. It was different from everything else he'd eaten.

"Aimez-vous?"

Mikey jumped at the voice and whirled around. A human was standing directly behind him. With ninja-fast reflexes, Mkey dropped the carrot and darted to the other side of the room to cower.

The human made a disappointed sound and backed up to the other humans. Mikey glared at them. They were just staring at him.

Now out of the cage, Mikey took in the sight of the room. It looked like something he'd seen in one of Donnie's book. He was currently hiding behind a stone. Beside him, was a tall tree and running through the room was a trickle of water. The floor was covered in dirt and grass. The room was modeled after the outdoors.

Mikey didn't really understand the purpose of this but he didn't care. The humans only seemed interested in watching him. With the same caution as before, Mikey rose from behind the rock and walked over to where he'd dropped the carrot. He snatched it up off the ground and ran back to his hiding place to nibble on the carrot and glare at the humans.

* * *

Many Months Later

"Tu as l'air heureux aujourd'hui," a voice said.

Mikey was sitting in the river splashing happily. He turned and looked up at the human with a grin. He still didn't understand this strange language but he'd learned to understand the tone. The human seemed happy to see him. He was happy to see her too. After all this time, he'd grown familiar with them.

Mikey got out of the artificial river and ran up to the human. Due to his age, his head hardly peaked her knee but that never stopped him from greeting her with a hug. The human laughed as he wrapped his arms around her calf. She reached down and patted his head.

"Aujourd'hui est un bon jour," she told him. "Tu es en train de partir."

Mikey, still not understanding, released her and ran around the room that he'd spent the last few months in. The human laughed and beckoned him over. Mikey calmed down and went to her side.

The door opened. Mikey turned to the sound of wheels against the smooth floor of the hallway outside. His heart dropped. Entering the room was one of the humans pushing a cart with a kennel on it like the one that had brought him here.

Mikey darted away from the humans and ran to hide behind a rock. The woman called something to him but Mikey ignored her. He didn't want to go back in a cage.

The woman came over and crouched beside him. She took his hand and gently tried to coax him over but Mikey wouldn't budge. He wouldn't even look at her.

She sighed and slid her hand under his shell, starting the turtle, and picked him up. Mikey began struggling. They'd never done this before!

Mikey wasn't nearly strong enough to break free. The woman carried him across the room and set him into the kennel. Mikey tried to make a break for it but the meshy door slammed in his face. The two humans exchanged a few words then the woman crouched down to look at him through the mesh. Mikey glared at her. She'd betrayed his trust.

"Au revoir tortue," she said softly. "J'espère que tu vis une bonne vie."

Mikey blinked, recognizing those words despite not knowing what they mean. He stared at her blankly in shock as the man began to wheel his cart away.

* * *

Oceania

13 Hours Later

Mikey woke to sunlight in his eyes. He blinked, partly to resist the light, partly in confusion. He didn't remember falling asleep. His eyes fell upon the open door of the kennel. With a happy cry, he rushed out.

Immediately, he knew something was wrong. He wasn't in the outside room. The grass under his feet felt more real. And there was this strange white stuff mixed in with it. And when he looked out before him, nothing obstructed his view. There was just blue.

"Where am I?" Mikey spoke aloud. He looked around. He saw no humans or buildings. He was standing in a field. Behind him was a forest and before him was a beach that stretched into ocean.

Mikey didn't know where all these words were coming from, he must've heard Donnie say them at some point. Mikey stared stunned out at the ocean until his belly growled. He patted it. Apparently he'd been asleep for a long time.

Mikey looked around, expecting carrots or lettuce to appear out of nowhere as it had the past few months any time he even vaguely felt hunger. He grew frustrated the more he looked around and the more he realized there was no one to feed him.

Mikey whined in frustration and anger. It was mostly aimed at the humans. Why had they taken him to this place and left him here? Sure, it was beautiful but there was no food!

Realizing that sitting around would do him no good, Mikey wandered towards the water in hopes of finding something to eat. He stepped from the grass to the sand then paused, not liking how the sand felt beneath his three toed feet. He considered turning around and heading back to his kennel but another rumble from his belly pushed him towards the water.

The turtle took small steps, curious, towards the ocean until he was at the waterline. He reached out with one foot and poked at it with his toe. Seeing that it reacted as he expected, he relaxed and walked forward. He kicked the water and let out a happy cry. This was just like the river he played in back with the humans only bigger!

Forgetting about his hunger, Mikey waded into the water and began to play.

* * *

Mikey once again woke to an unfamiliar feeling. It was cold, like a cold blanket was trying wrap itself around him. Fearing a ghost was coming after him, the turtle's eyes snapped open into a dark beach lit only by moonlight.

The first thing Mikey noticed was that he wasn't lying on the warm, sun-heated sand that he had fallen asleep on. Instead, he was surrounded by cold, cold water.

Mikey let out a scream and got to his feet to get out of the water. As he did, the water lurched, making him fall back into it. Mikey hit the water with a large splash only it wasn't fun anymore. Tears began to fall from his face. Mikey tried getting to his feet again but another wave rose and hit him from behind.

Mikey screamed as the water began dragging him backwards. He clawed forward, trying to grab onto something to no avail. His flailing legs smacked against the ground. He tried grabbing onto it but his grip kept slipping until he'd been pulled back so far that he couldn't touch the ground anymore.

"Help!" Mikey cried out even though he was sure there was no one around, tears running messily down his face. He thrashed around in the water in an effort to stay afloat and possibly get back to solid ground but the waves kept fighting him.

Mikey's muscles screamed almost as loud as he did. He was young and lived a sheltered life, his muscle wasn't very built up. His training as a ninja did nothing to prepare him for this.

The cold didn't help much either. Mikey could feel his limbs stiffening and his body's urge to retract into his shell but he wasn't dumb enough to listen. He kept paddling the best he could but he knew he couldn't keep it up forever and began sinking in exhaustion.

* * *

On a beach, a massive animal lay sunning lazily on the hot sand. It was an alligator, clearly a mutant judging by the size of it. He was lying on his back, dozing, and enjoying the feeling of the sun's heat on his soft underside.

The alligator let out a low rumble. He was at peace. The beach was warm and quiet, there was nothing here to bother him. Some would find such tranquility boring and long for something more but the alligator couldn't even imagine ever getting tired of the silence. He'd had a long, difficult life. The peace was welcome and he never wanted it to leave.

As noon neared, the alligator sat up and flipped over, the heat was starting to feel like his stomach was being fried. The alligator shook himself and glanced around. On all fours, he began to slink towards the ocean for a brief swim.

He hissed as his body touched the water, not liking the sudden change in temperature, but he didn't retreat back to the land. He waded until his feet could no longer touch the ground then dove down to swim beneath the surface.

Enjoying the feeling of freedom that he got by speeding through the water the way that he did, the alligator got pretty far from the shore. He slowed when a series of rocks sticking out of the water forced him to weave around them. He eventually gave up on this endeavor and hauled himself out of the water to go back to sunning in a new location.

The alligator lay down on his belly this time. The rock he'd chosen was long and flat and big enough to hold his size. He folded his arms under his head to support it as he gazed out at the ocean. He wasn't tired after spending the morning sleeping but he didn't feel up for any crazy adventures. He never did and doubted he ever would. He looked forward to an uneventful life before him. Swimming on occasion was enough excitement for him.

In the distance, a flock of water birds began to descend and settle down on the water's surface. The alligator watched with interest. A few of those would make a good meal and floating the way that they were, he could probably sneak up from under them fairly easily.

Just as he began to rise from his resting position, the flock took off from the water much to the alligator's annoyance. Something must've spooked them. Maybe some larger prey came along. With hopefulness in his mind, he dropped down off the rock and slipped silently into the water to swim towards where the birds had been.

The alligator knew if something had scared them off, it had to have been underwater. If it had been on the surface or in the sky, he would've seen it. But he couldn't see any animals floating around.

The alligator closed his eyes and began relying on his other senses. He could feel something off, almost like the presence of some kind of human thing. He really hoped no humans had wandered into his territory but his nose was telling him otherwise.

The alligator opened his eyes and he spotted something drifting nearby. That was the thing giving off the human scent. He swam towards it to investigate and grabbed it gently in his jaws to bring back to dry land.

* * *

Mikey woke to the third rude awakening in the past day. This time he was having a coughing fit. Water spill from the turtle's mouth and nose as he sat up, hacking up everything in him. He lurched over and began vomiting.

"Are you alright?" a deep voice asked. Mikey looked up, surprised to hear English after so long. His eyes fell upon the alligator mutant.

"Who are you?" Mikey rasped as he wiped his mouth.

"I have no name," the alligator mutant spoke. He eyed Mikey with concern. "I found you unconscious in the water. You weren't breathing. I do not have much medical knowledge and I could not do much for your breathing due to your shell but I tried my best to help you. Can you breathe? Do you sense any internal damage?"

"I'm fine," Mikey waved him off. "Sensei always says I'm quick to recover."

The alligator didn't know who 'sensei' was but he didn't care much at the moment. "You really should care more for your health. I do not know how long you were out there… what is your name, young one?"

"Michelangelo," Mikey told him. "My brothers call me Mikey."

"Michelangelo," the alligator murmured.

"What's your name?" Mikey asked.

"I have no name," the alligator repeated.

"Of course you have a name, everyone has a name."

"I do not," the alligator said.

Mikey frowned. "Well, we can't have that now, can we? What'd be a good name for you…"

The alligator sighed. The turtle had nearly just died and he was thinking about something as trivial his name?

Mikey reached up and felt Leatherhead's skin. "You're really big… You're a crocodile right?"

"Alligator."

"Alligator…" Mikey murmured as he ran his hand over the mutant's scales. He reached up to touch his head. The alligator flinched at the touch, he hadn't felt something like that in so long. "You feel kinda leathery… I got it! Leatherhead!"

"Leatherhead?" Leatherhead repeated.

"Yeah! Leatherhead!" Mikey nodded. "We're going to be such good friends!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This was how writing this chapter went:

 _Entity: Man, this chapter was a long time coming! Finally Mikey's origin story!_

 _Mikey: No._

 _Entity: What do you mean no? I have all this cool stuff planned out._

 _Mikey: No._

 _Mikey and Entity start fighting. Entity seems to have the upper hand but Mikey pins him down and ties him up._

 _Entity: Mikey... I have to write this. People are waiting. Its an important part of the story._

 _Mikey: No._

 _Donnie and Rahzar: Write about us!_

 _Entity: *Gives in quickly and starts working on next chapter*_

 _Entity works at untying Mikey's ropes for several days and breaks free._

 _Entity: Mikey, you can't fight me anymore. This chapter is going to be late._

 _Mikey: NO!_

 _Other story: Write me! Write me!_

 _Entity: ...I really want to work on that._

 _*Works on something else for several days*_

 _Entity: Mikey, its been over a week. Today I'm going to finish writing this chapter._

 _Mikey: No!_

 _Fighting Continues. Entity stuffs Mikey into a barrel and kicks him off a cliff._

 _Leatherhead: Hey there!_

Needless to say, this chapter and the previous chapter were a pain to write. It took me 42 days to write them. I believe that is a record.

This chapter was not proof read, any mistakes will eventually be fixed. I just wanted to get it out and be done with it.

In case you couldn't follow what happened, Mikey was sent to one of those facilities that prepare an animal to be returned to the wild but since Mikey's an idiot, he didn't pick up the necessary survival skills. He just got used to easy living and didn't really understand what was happening. He fell asleep on the beach and the tide rose and pulled him into the ocean where he passed out. And then Leatherhead saved him. You know the rest.

Also I know that they don't speak French everywhere in Africa. As stated previously, I needed the people to not speak English and I figured more people knew French than some other non-English language spoken in Africa. I don't speak French so thank Google Translate for any errors. At my school, you have to take 2 years of language to graduate and there are 3 options. It is a regular argument which is the best option. There is a reason that South America is one of the Four Corners.


	25. Thanksgiving

How did Dogpound and Donnie handle being away from their families on the holiday?

* * *

Antarctica

10 Years Ago

Dogpound was lying on a mat on the floor of the common room. Due to the massive bulk of his mutant form, he was unable to lie on the couch beside him.

The dog was lying lazily on his side and mindlessly tracing his finger in some unknown pattern on the smooth stone flooring of the facility. He let out a long sigh and closed his heavy eyes.

"Dogpound!" a high voice called. Dogpound heard faint footsteps rushing towards him. "What are you- hey!"

Dogpound opened an eye to see Rockwell pulling Donnie away from him with his psychic power. "Come along now Donatello. Now is not the time to bother the young Bradford."

"Why?" Donnie asked.

Knowing the explanation that was coming, Dogpound flattened his ears in an effort to keep it out. Rockwell lead Donnie into another room but that didn't stop the mutant's hypersensitive ears from listening.

"It is the third Thursday of November," Rockwell was telling the five year old turtle.

"What's that mean?" Donnie asked. "Is something happening since he's a dog because I read that two or three times a year-?"

"No!" Rockwell interrupted sharply, not ready to have that conversation with the child. "No, it is certainly not that. How do you even know what that is? Never mind, I don't want to know. On the third Thursday of every November, Americans celebrate a holiday known as Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving?"

"Have you heard of it?"

"No. What is it?"

"It is the day that the pilgrims celebrated their first harvest in the New World," Rockwell told him. "I believe that-"

"Did that actually happen or is that one of those weird stories?"

Rockwell chuckled. "It did really happen but I do think it is one of those 'weird stories'. In reality, the pilgrims weren't much of pilgrims by definition and their arrival was nothing to be celebrated. But that is not the point," Rockwell explained. "In modern America, on every third Thursday of November, families gather and hold a feast."

Donnie didn't say anything. Dogpound assumed he was nodding. He couldn't hear nodding. He rose his hands to cover his flattened ears knowing what was coming next but his efforts didn't do much to muffle the sound.

"So why is Dogpound so sad? We can have a feast."

"No, we can't. We don't have the resources. But that's not why he's sad," Rockwell went on. "Thanksgiving is a day of family as many holidays are. He simply misses everyone he had to leave behind after his mutation."

"But aren't we his family?" Donnie asked.

"Yes, I suppose we are a family in a way, but we cannot replace the ones we grew up with," Rockwell said. "Do you believe that I can replace your father? Or that Bradford can replace your brothers?"

Donnie thought for a moment. "I dunno. I can't remember them very well. My mind is starting to get all fuzzy."

Sorrow rose in Dogpound's chest. The child had only been separated from his family for a few months and he was already starting to forget them.

Unable to listen further, Dogpound got to his feet and made his way back to his room. He wished he had paid more attention to Donnie when he told him about his family. If he had, he might be able to remember for him. Part of him was glad he hadn't though. One missing family was enough to remember.

Dogpound recalled the faces of his family members. His father Derrell Bradford wasn't the most caring father, Rockwell had been a better father figure for him, but he was still his father. He was just far too focused on his work and his wealth to pay mind his children. Normal height, not very well built, greying brown hair. Dogpound could still picture him clearly.

His mother Dana Bradford was a bit more caring though she too was far too focused on the family's work and wealth. She wasn't the most attractive woman but she was his mother and in his eyes, she was beautiful. She was tall for a woman and she had a strong yet slender form and the deepest dark eyes that matched her black hair.

Dogpound had better memories involving his two brothers, Cooper and Brian. When he'd last seen him, Cooper was just barely an adult. His hair matched his mother's in color and he almost always was smiling. He always loved a good joke. He always convinced his brothers to get into trouble with him but he was smart enough to not do anything big enough to get into any real trouble.

Brian really stood out from his family. He was tall and incredibly well build. He shared his mother and brother's dark black hair but had his father's brown eyes. He was a very serious man, even as a child, and had always been distant but he still made time for his younger brothers. At least until he moved away that is. Then he changed but Dogpound didn't concern himself with that.

Dogpound closed his eyes as he put up an arm to lean against the door of his room as he reached it. His breath shuddered as he exhaled. He blinked a few times, trying to get the water to go away. He didn't know why this day got him so sad. It wasn't like he didn't think of his old family every other day of the year.

Dogpound jabbed the button on the door with a finger, activating the electronic lock and opening it. He walked inside and flopped down on his reinforced mattress without bothering to close the door. He gave another long sigh and buried his face into his pillow and tried to drown out the thoughts of his old family but failed miserably.

Something about this day, it just gave him the sense that he should be with the people who mattered most to him. But he wasn't. He felt this emptiness within him. The feeling wasn't a stranger to him, he'd felt it through his whole life but it had only gotten worse in the past four years that he had been a mutant. And on certain days, it increased tenfold.

Dogpound knew that feeling was loneliness. He was so lonely. In a way that made him angry, he of all people shouldn't be lonely, but the feeling of anger never lasted long. He couldn't be around people because he was a mutant and that was sort of his own fault.

Part of him didn't blame himself though. He blamed Chris, that stupid boy he used to be. Chris made the mistake, not Dogpound yet he had to suffer for it.

Dogpound sighed. Those kinds of thoughts wouldn't do him any good. Thinking of himself as separate entities never did anything more than confuse him.

He wished it did help, he really did. If he wasn't Chris, then that would mean he had no reason to miss the Bradfords because then he would be one. But the human feelings and memories always came back no matter how many times he told himself he had left that life behind.

Dogpound heard a knock at his room's entrance. Knowing the door was open, he flicked his ear without looking up, telling the knocker it was alright to enter. He heard Donnie's little footsteps patter up to him followed by Rockwell's slower ones.

Rockwell helped Donnie climb up onto Dogpound's bed. The little turtle through his tiny arms around Dogpound's giant arm.

The action surprised Dogpound enough to look up at the child. Donnie was hugging him with everything he had, burying his face into his fur and squeezing him with all the power he had in those little arms of his.

Dogpound looked to Rockwell with confusion. The chimpanzee gave a small smile.

"It's been four years," Rockwell said. "And it's not just the two of anymore. We can't just let you lie here and wallow all by yourself."

"I'm not wallowing," Dogpound grumbled. He scowled but on the inside, his heart soared.

"Sure you aren't," Rockwell said sarcastically. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Now move over. I can't let Donatello be the only one to comfort you."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope all of you who celebrate this holiday have a Happy Thanksgiving. Not everyone is fortunate to be able to so if you'd like to help out a poor soul who doesn't have families or cannot afford to celebrate this day, I encourage you to look up a local donation society and help feed a family this holiday. Many schools and community centers have some right now.

I said there would be 30 chapters but that number is being extended due to the need for a few bonus chapters such as this one.


	26. Competition Part 1

Everyone knows Donnie has feelings for April. How'd that play out when the two of them live together in the middle of nowhere with Rockwell and Rahzar? And what happened after April arrived at the lab?

* * *

Antarctica

Three Years Ago

[A few days after Warmth]

"I swear I'm fine," Rahzar growled under his breath for what felt like the millionth time as Rockwell took his blood pressure. Rahzar was sitting on the medical bed that he'd spent the last few days on in the medical room. He couldn't wait to get back to the room he shared with Donnie.

"You've lost your cold resistant exterior, Bradford. Then you ran through subzero temperatures. Not to mention that you have double mutated, there's no telling what catastrophic effects this could have on your body," Rockwell rambled as he took the monitor off the super mutant's arm and glanced at it. "Hmm. One-twenty six over eighty one."

"See! That's normal!" Rahzar said forcefully.

"It is a bit high."

"Oh come on! Barely!"

From the other side of the room where another medical bed lay, Donnie and April started laughing. Rahzar flattened his ears and glared at them. Rockwell ignored them and proceed to add the results to a chart he had clamped to a clipboard.

"Alright, that's enough for now," the scientist said. "April?"

"Coming," she said and got up. Rahzar put one of his feet on the ground and kicked off sending his wheeled bed sailing across the room. It stopped beside the other one.

Donnie was standing beside April's now vacant bed with his shell leaned against the wall and his arms crossed. "Don't do that Rahzar."

"But it's fun!" Rahzar protested.

"That's also your excuse to mix acetone, sulfuric acid, and potassium permanganate," Donnie sighed.

"What?" Rahzar tilted his head.

"The 'fire stuff'," Rockwell told him as he shone a flashlight in April's eyes. She instinctively flinched then stiffened and forced herself to hold still for the medical test.

"Oh yeah," Rahzar grinned.

"You cause fire in the lab?" April questioned. "Aren't you guys kind of limited on resources?"

"Those are expendable, the other things he plays with aren't," Rockwell said. He switched the flashlight off and grabbed a stethoscope with his telekinesis.

"I've noticed," April commented.

Rahzar flashed another grin and flopped down from a sitting position to a lying one and glanced up at Donnie. Donnie rolled his eyes. Somewhat dejectedly, Rahzar's gaze drifted to April and Rockwell. Rockwell was focused on using the stethoscope. April had sort of a smile on her face. Rahzar tried to catch her eye and matched her smile.

"Stupid stethoscope," Rockwell grumbled and pulled the device away to inspect it. "Heart rates don't just speed up like that."

* * *

Rahzar let out a long sigh as he collapsed on his own bed for the first time in days. Immediately, the force of his jump caused him to bounce off and land ungracefully on the floor.

Donnie burst out laughing, leaning back with his hands on his lower plastron before hunching forward to slap his leg with one hand.

Rahzar didn't even turn to look at him, he just pulled himself up. "You're going through some kinda pre-teenage phase. What are you, like twelve? You're getting mean. Twelve is a mean age."

Donnie wiped his eye and gave a gap-toothed grin. "I'm not getting mean, you're just a clutz."

Rahzar didn't respond and set a hand on his bed and began pawing it. "Was it always this hard?"

Donnie nodded. "You used to weigh a lot more, remember? We had to reinforce it every once in awhile as you got older."

Rahzar glanced down at his new, thin form and frowned. His body didn't look anything like the way it did when he was Dogpound. He still saw his mutation as a blessing but it would take some adjustment.

Rahzar climbed onto his bed this time rather than jumping on this time and sat down in a criss cross position. Donnie sat down on his own bed and faced him.

"I'd offer you my bed until we could fix your's but y'know…" Donnie trailed off and gestured at his bed. Rahzar nodded, understanding. Like himself, Donnie couldn't exactly use a normal human bed due to his mutation. His mattress was incredibly pliable so that he didn't have to lie uncomfortably on his shell. It just sunk down. Otherwise it would be impossible to get comfortable.

"Don't worry Don, I can probably just make a nest of pillows and blankets or something," Rahzar told him.

Donnie frowned. "April probably needs those. She doesn't have a bed. And we'll probably need any spares in case the heating unit breaks. You can't exactly go outside to fix it. Especially at night."

Rahzar stared at him a moment. "You need to get out more. Its broad daylight out there for like a week at a time."

"Oh right," Donnie said dismissively. "Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind."

"Well, that's what these are for," Rahzar said and leaned over to a desk pressed against the wall between the two beds. He hook the knob on the drawer with one of his newly elongated claws and fished out two objects.

Confused, Donnie leaned over to get a better due to the fact Rahzar's body blocked it at the angle he was sitting. His face relaxed into recognition then jumped into excitement. "Oh right! I've been waiting until you got better to do that!"

Rahzar was holding two bound journals, one in each hand. One purple, one tan. He tossed the purple one to Donnie. Donnie caught it and cracked it open. He wiggled his fingers as he stared down at it. "Ooh, this is going to be a good session!"

"Couldn't agree more," Rahzar said. That was very true, so much had happened over the past few days. Or rather one day. Rahzar used to think that this whole writing out your feelings was stupid and girly but Rockwell insisted that they do it since they had a lot of struggles in their short lives and a lack of ways to deal with it. It really helped though. Donnie and Rahzar didn't really do it in the traditional sense. Other than their inner feelings, Donnie's journal was filled with lab reports on the findings of whatever lab the group had done that day while Rahzar passed time thinking up stories.

Also the two read each other's journals which made it all the more fun. It was a bonding experience, sharing what they could not with oral words. But they really only read the more diary-like part of the journals, Donnie wasn't very interested in Rahzar's storytelling nor was Rahzar interested in Donnie's lab work.

"How long do you wanna do?" Rahzar asked with a glance at his digital alarm clock that sat by his bed. "Like an hour?"

Donnie scoffed. "So much has happened that we need to write about."

"So… like two?"

Donnie shrugged.

"Two then," Rahzar decided. He lay down on his stomach and grabbed a pencil off his desk. Then he decided better. His bed was uncomfortable, he may as well use the desk for something other than storage.

Rahzar sat down in the chair and shifted at the unfamiliar feeling. A few days ago, he'd been Dogpound and Dogpound was far too large to sit in a chair.

Rahzar looked at Donnie. His tongue stuck out of his mouth in concentration as he scribbled rapidly in his journal. Rahzar turned his attention back to his own journal.

The last thing he'd been working on was a story about a chicken, a cat, a tortoise, and a zombie. Not his best work. In fact, he hated it. He made a note not to come back to it and began a new entry.

 _New Entry,_ he wrote. _So much has happened. Like life changing stuff happened._

He paused, already distracted. "Hey, Don?"

"Hmm?" Donnie didn't stop writing.

"Do you think we should ask Rockwell to give April a journal? She's a girl, girls do that kinda stuff," he said.

"We're not girls and we do it," Donnie said, finally looking up.

"That's not what I meant," Rahzar told him. "I mean like, she could really benefit from writing everything out that's going on in her head, you know? She just moved to another continent with no way back home, she's living with a bunch of mutants… oh, and her mentor is missing, probably dead."

"Oh right, I forgot about Falco," Donnie said.

Rahzar palmed his face. "So?"

"So…?"  
"Do you think we should ask Rockwell to give April a journal?" Rahzar repeated.

"Oh. Maybe later," Donnie said. "I think they're trying to figure out some sort of sleeping arrangement for her."

"That's right," Rahzar said then looked back to his journal. _We've got someone new at the lab. Her name's April O'Neil. She's really pretty. And nice. I spent the last few days with her in the medical bay but I'll get back to the stuff about her later. I've got so much I've gotta write about, I don't want to get too distracted._

 _So I saved her. That was pretty cool. I don't really know where Falco is, he said something about a spaceship. I don't know if he was kidding or not. I saw it but knowing me, I could've imagined it. Rockwell says I'm very gullible. He's gone though. And their plane ship thing is destroyed so we can't really get April back to New York._

 _I'm getting side tracked already. I'm trying to talk about the fact that I saved her. Oh, I got mutated again while doing that btw. Rockwell's making a big deal out of it. Apparently he didn't know that mutates could mutate again. I think he's making too much of a deal out of it._

 _Okay, that's not true. I'm freaking out, I feel all different. It's still way cool. I'm called Rahzar now. April came up with that. Or I guess I did, she said I was screaming that when I got mutated. I don't really remember that. I've been mutated twice and neither time I've really remembered what happened other than the pain and what it felt like. This time it was different which makes sense. Last time I got bigger, this time I got smaller._

 _I look way cool now. I think April's into it but Donnie won't say anything. He's been acting kinda weird lately._

"Done!" Donnie announced.

"What? Already?" Rahzar said surprised, looking over his shoulder to look at his friend.

"It's been half an hour!"

"You said you wanted two hours!"

"I know but I write fast when I get excited."

"You should've thought of that earlier."

"Whatever. You shouldn't be complaining. You always finished first. Aren't you done yet?"

"No. It's hard to write with these hands."

"They're way smaller than your old ones, you can actually hold the pencil now. You should be faster. You can run faster, your muscles and bone structure-"

"It'll take some getting used to," Rahzar interrupted and waved the turtle off. "Just give me a few minutes. Add some stuff while you're waiting."

"Fine."

Rahzar turned back to his journal to continue writing. _I really like April. She's from New York too. She told me about everything going on back home. I guess I've really been gone for a long time, I didn't really know what she was talking about. She tried her best to explain everything to me. She's nice, I like her. A lot._

 _That makes me feel bad, like some gross man. She's the first girl I've really seen or spoken to sense reaching maturity, or I guess even since I started puberty. I feel bad looking at her like that. It's wrong. Not just because of the fact I'm a mutant, I'm also way older than her. I always forget how old I am._

 _Anyway, she nice and I like her. And she's smart, she'll fit right in. She was talking with Donnie about something or another and he seemed thrilled to have someone to-_

"Are you done yet?" Donnie asked.

"When did you get so impatient?"

"Since you got slow. I've added a bunch of stuff and I'm getting bored."

"Okay, just gimme a minute," Rahzar said. _-and it seemed like they could understand all the sciencey stuff that the other one was talking about. I think that'll be good for Donnie. Rockwell is his smart companion, I'm the young one. April is like the both of us rolled into one. I-_

"Aren't you done yet?" Donnie asked again.

Rahzar sighed. "Let's just trade, I can finish later if you're so desperate to read it."

"I'm not. It's late and I'm tired but we have to do the switch to finish and we have to finish before going to sleep."

"Or you can just go to sleep."

"I'd never be able to sleep knowing that I didn't do something," Donnie said as he handed the purple journal over to the super mutant who did the same with his tan one.

Rahzar moved back to his bed now that he had Donnie's journal. This was a customary part of their journal writing, reading what the other had to say. Rahzar sat on his bed with his back against the wall and put the purple journal into his lap.

Immediately he noticed that Donnie's handwriting was incredibly messy. He wrote bad when he was writing fast. Second thing he noticed that there were a lot of big words, he didn't like those. He flipped ahead a few pages, scoping out what lay ahead of him.

He blinked. There was a lot. One, two, three, four, five… Five, wait, no, six pages. He stared at the sixth page for a moment. This was the addition that he told Donnie to write. The page was not filled, there was only a single column on it.

"Donnie…"

"Yes?"

"What the hell is this?" Rahzar snarled.

"What?" Donnie asked innocently.

"Is this a love poem? To _April_?"

"What do you think?" Donnie asked nervously.

"What is wrong with you?" Rahzar said sharply.

"It's not that bad. It's not like anyone but you is going to see it!"

"The fact that this was in your head at all is bad!" Rahzar protested.

"Did you even read it?"

" _The Girl From Another Land_ by Hamato Donatello," Rahzar read. " _I have never met a girl like you. My heart has never whispered the way it does now when I see your face. Your beautiful, beautiful face. Your hair, it is a color I have never seen in this cold land my heart lives in. It suits you. It draws my eyes to your smile. That small smile you give… Its so unique. It makes my heart soar like a bird. I want my heart to touch yours. It seems so pure and light. Your inner beauty reflects your outer. Unlike mine. I know I can never tell you these words. Because our love can never happen._ "

Donnie looked at him hopefully.

"Dude. What. The. Hell."

"What?" Donnie said defensively. "And don't use that kind of language. It's not appropriate here."

"It's completely appropriate here!" Rahzar said. "You can't just say stuff like that!"

"Why?"

"First off, you sound like a creep. Second, you just met her. You can't possibly love her, that only happens on TV, in movies, and in weird books. Third, you're a mutant!"

"I know. I mentioned that."

"That doesn't make it okay."

"You're a mutant too," Donnie pointed out. "Don't pretend like you haven't looked at her too." Donnie held up the tan journal. "See? It says right here _she's nice, I like her. A lot._ "

"If I remember that correctly, I went on to talk about how that is very, very wrong," Rahzar said. "Oh, and fourth thing, she's the only girl you've ever met! You're probably not even actually feeling anything, normal stuff is just exaggerated because you've never felt it before. You're in that stage too."

"Hey, you don't know how I feel," Donnie said, jabbing a finger in Rahzar's direction. "And I've got some problems with you and April too. One, you're a giant wolf mutant. Two, you're an idiot and she's a genius. She deserves someone better."

"Someone like you?" Rahzar growled.

Donnie ignored him. "Three, you're way older than her."

"I know," Rahzar said.

"You're twenty one, she's thirteen. She's a minor," Donnie pointed out. "There's an eight year difference. That's over half her life."

"I know," Rahzar said more forcefully. "I'm not trying to get with her or anything, that's messed up. You, on the other hand, do not realize that you and her is equally wrong."

Donnie glared. "And why is that?"

"I literally just gave you four reasons! You're supposed to be the smart one here!"

"I am! That's why we should be together! Plus, I'm charming, funny, good looking-"

Rahzar scoffed. Donnie was none of those things. Donnie apparently heard him and glared at him.

"What, you don't think I'm charming, funny, and good looking?"

"Of course not. Don't say stuff like that, it makes you sound vain," Rahzar told him. "And you're putting lies in your head, you're a mutant. You've got no chance with her. You wouldn't even if you were a human."

"You're a mutant too!" Donnie shouted. "And I've got great chances! Better than you at least."

"Yeah, 'cuz I'm not going to try anything," Rahzar said then looked down at his hands, suddenly hating the way that they curled into claws rather than fingers. In another lifetime, he'd love to get together with April but this one… it couldn't happen. He looked back up at Donnie. He sighed. "Tell you what. I'll help you out."

"What?" Donnie said, surprised, losing his anger.

"There are only four of us here, if you screw up too bad, it'll suck for all of us," Rahzar said.

"Thanks for the bout of confidence," Donnie said sarcastically.

"I'm serious. Try to screw up as gracefully as possible," Rahzar told him.

"I don't think I want your help anymore."

"Fine, fine," Rahzar said. "I'll stop."

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"Get to know her first," Rahzar told him. "You barely know her, you just see her as a pretty face, your heart's not in it."

"How could you possibly know that? No one can know how someone else feels."

"But I know how you don't feel," Rahzar responded. He held up Donnie's poem and thrust a claw into the page. "You say you love her but you don't know anything about her, you can't possibly love her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Donnie said defensively.

"Would you love her if she… I don't know, was really self centered? Or what if she's really mean? What if she has a boyfriend back in New York?"

"Does she?" Donnie asked, panicking.

"No. But point is that you don't know anything about her. Hypothetically if you two started something now, you'd have to figure everything out about each other and if you guys realize that you can't really get along or something, you'd have to break up. It'll be a lot easier if you start off as friends, then you can decide where you want to go from there."

Donnie looked at him blankly. "I'm not following."

"Donnie, you're twelve," Rahzar stated. "You're also an orphan who never went to school and doesn't watch tv. You haven't really been exposed to this stuff. April has, she understands it. So even if you don't understand it, you need to do things her way."

Donnie continued to look at him blankly. "Okay…"

"Am I not explaining it right?" Rahzar asked. Donnie nodded. "Just go talk to her."

"Right," Donnie said firmly and turned to the door.

"Not now! It's the middle of the night!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This chapter was a long time coming. Its been in my head since I wrote chapter one. I hinted at it there.

Rahzar is not going to do anything. As stated many times, there is an age difference and species difference. Personally, I don't care what people do but I don't really want to write that. I don't ship the two of them but they just kinda worked in the story.

This story's update schedule is changing. It is currently _once or twice a week to every other week_. It is now _approximately whenever I feel like it._ Not put of laziness, not because I'm giving up the story because I'm not. Its a quality vs quantity thing. I like this chapter, its good. The last one, I hate with every fiber of my being. This one took a long time to write. The last one did too because I lost the plans but it didn't take as long. I have the rest of the story planned out, I just need more than a week to make a chapter good.

Since this is a two parter, the next chapter will come out sooner rather than later. Hopefully they won't be too infrequent. I hate it when I'm reading a story that never updates, I don't want to do that to you guys.

I feel like I should discuss the plans for the story since I always mention them but never in detail. As the title says, this is a prequel to Four Corners of the Earth. This originally was supposed to be an infrequently updated filler story while I wrote the sequel because I like to finish stories before I upload them. The sequel was supposed to be released two months after the original but that didn't happen, I barely started it at that point. The sequel is actually good, its not a bunch of random time skipping oneshots. The sequel's almost a quarter done. I plan on uploading it at the halfway point. This story had around 8 chapters left unless someone requests anything. Then I'll write that but I don't plan on planning anymore than I have planned.

Anyway, I just need time to make them good so the update schedule is changing. No need to worry. Reviews would be nice though. I don't like asking for them but they help with the whole motivation thing. Its hard to get in the mood to wrote this story and the chapter's suck if I'm not in the mood.


	27. Competition Part 2

The next morning Donnie woke up with an excited feeling. He had the same feeling for the past few days. The new person in the lab caused him to look at the place with a new light. He didn't care about what Rahzar said, he really liked April.

Speaking of the supermutant, he was still passed out on his dysfunctional bed. Donnie watched him for a moment, debating whether or not to wake him. He decided not too. Their argument hadn't left Donnie in a very compassionate mood towards his best friend. Besides, Rahzar would probably try to steal April from him or something.

Donnie felt somewhat guilty for their fight last night. Rahzar sounded pretty upset with him. Of course Donnie had been upset too, his best friend had pretty much told him he had no chance with the girl he liked and insulted him repeatedly but Rahzar seemed upset by his own words. Rahzar had the same desire for love and companionship as Donnie, he'd probably had that desire for even longer, but he believed he'd never find it. That made Donnie feel bad for fighting him so much. Donnie was a pretty optimistic guy. It hurt him that Rahzar was so negative.

Donnie wandered down the halls towards the eating area. It wasn't much. Pretty much just a table near the food storage units. Donnie opened up one of them and rummaged around. They didn't have much but their food options had significantly improved over the years. They used to rely on raiding the vending machines and garages of the few tourist airports on the continent but at the age of eight, Donnie had developed plans for farming.

They now had a decent supply of food. Nothing like the stuff Rockwell and Rahzar had eaten as humans back in America and Britain when they'd lived there but it was much better than the unnutritional and usually stale packaged food that they used to steal.

Donnie grabbed a few potatoes, a food they had an abundance of. He took a pot from a cabinet and began boiling water before tossing the potatoes in. He sat down at the table and waited for someone else to show up but no one did by the time the food was done.

Donnie fished out the potatoes, taking one for himself and leaving the rest out for everyone else. He looked back into the food storage units for something to put on it. They had a lot of stolen individually wrapped butter packages. Donnie grabbed one and quickly cut open the potato to get the butter in fast enough for it to melt.

Seeing that no one was coming to breakfast, Donnie wandered back into the hallways as he ate his potato. He checked in on April's room and found she wasn't there. He resumed his wandering.

"Hey Donnie," a voice said.

Donnie glanced to the side and saw April sitting behind a computer in one of the labrooms. "A-April! What are you doing here? I mean, uh, what's up?"

"Can you help me out with something?" April asked. "These computers are kind of… what's the word?"

"Advanced?"

"Outdated."

Donnie sighed and slumped.

"But... uh, for being on a frozen continent without access to much technology, its very... advanced," she recovered quickly.

Donnie perked up. "Upgraded them myself," he said proudly with his gap toothed grin.

"Then you understand how to use them? Great!"

Donnie walked to stand behind her. He gave a silent fist pump before looking over her shoulder to see the computer screen. "So what are you up to?"

"I'm scanning the area."

"What for?"

"Doctor Falco."

Donnie's grin slid off his face as his excitement dropped. "Falco? April… I don't think we're going to find him."

To his relief, when April turned, she did not fight him. "I know," she sighed. "It's impossible for anyone to survive out there for so long, it's a wonder Rahzar and I made it, but shouldn't there at least be a body?"

Donnie thought for a moment before holding his fingers up like horns. "Maybe the aliens got him," Donnie joked in the highest voice he could manage. He started laughing.

April didn't look amused. "Don't joke about that Donnie."

Donnie shut his mouth and tried to look apologetic but failed miserably and gave up. "April, do you really expect me to believe aliens knocked down your plane?"

"It's the truth! Rahzar saw it too!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"Are you sure?"

"He told me when we were in the medical bay."

"Are you sure he wasn't just saying stuff to get on your good side."

"No, of course not! He's not like that," April insisted. For some reason, the certainty in her voice stung Donnie deeply.

"I'm not like what?" a voice said. Rahzar poked his head in through the doorway. His fur was ruffled showing that he just rolled out of bed.

"Donnie's saying that you lied about seeing that spacecraft," April told him.

"Why would I lie about that?"

"I don't know," Donnie said. His tone was anything but genuine.

April glanced between the two of them but didn't say anything. There was a long period of silence.

"So… why are we talking about aliens?" Rahzar spoke up.

"April wants to scan the area for a body," Donnie told him.

"Why would there be a body? Did someone die?" Rahzar asked. Donnie stared at him for a moment. Rahzar suddenly seemed to realize what they were talking about. "Oh. Right. Falco. We should have some kind of memorial for him or something. He really did a lot for me and Rockwell."

"Really?" April asked.

"Yeah. When Rockwell and I got mutated, we hid from the police and such at his place," Rahzar told her. "And he helped us get this lab away from civilization."

April looked down. Emotion flooded her eyes. Donnie put a hand on her shoulder but it didn't seem to do her much comfort.

"Do you still want help with a scan?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah," April wiped her face. "I just want to know what happened to him."

"I wish I could go out there and take a look around but I don't think my new body would be able to stay out there long enough to," Rahzar said. "Do you want me to go find Rockwell and ask if he can do a psychic search?"

"Yeah. I'd appreciate that, thanks."

Rahzar gave a small tip of his hand, a wave, and walked back to the hallway. Donnie found himself glaring a bit. He heard April say something but he didn't catch it. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I just said that was kind of him," April repeated with a soft smile as she watched him walk away. "How come you two don't get along?"

"What? What makes you think that?"

She shrugged. "I mean, other than the fact you just accused him of lying, you've been glaring at him and you'd make fun of him whenever you'd come visit us in the medical bay. He seems like a really great guy, I can't really see what would make you two butt heads."

Donnie felt a bit guilty. "We don't actually dislike each other… we actually get along really well. He's my best friend and that's not just because we live away from society and there's no one else around. We kinda had a fight last night. I guess I just haven't gotten over it."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Why were you fighting?"

"It was nothing really," Donnie lied. "There's just been a lot going on and we kinda both just snapped. It was a dumb fight."

April nodded. "I understand. That just happens sometimes. It can't be easy living all cooped up here like this. I'm sure you've both got a lot of stored up tension."

"Yeah. Do you think you'll be able to? Live like this, I mean. We don't have the technology to get you back home..."

April nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Rockwell's been trying to make this all easier on me and I spent a few days stuck in the med bay with Rahzar and we got along pretty well so I think we'll be alright."

"So, uh, what do you think of him?" Donnie asked hesitantly.

"Who?"

"Rahzar."

"He seems like a great guy," April told him. "He's from New York like me, he's a good listener… I like him. He's been a good friend."

Donnie nodded slowly. "Oh. Okay. Alright."

"So can you help me with the scan?" April asked, turning back to the computer.

"What? Oh. Yes. Right," Donnie said with a forced smile. He tried to ignore the feelings swelling up inside him. "First thing we gotta do is set the parameters."

* * *

"Hey, Rahzar?"

"Hmm?"

Donnie and Rahzar were both lying in their beds. Donnie had a thick textbook cracked open on his lap and Rahzar was gnawing on a pipe. Rahzar rolled over to look at his friend. Donnie fidgeted his three fingered hands.

"I just wanted to say sorry for earlier," Donnie apologize. "I didn't-"

"Don't worry about it," Rahzar sighed. He sat up on his bed. "I get it. You're at a weird age. You say and do weird things, I did the same thing. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so hard on you."

"Oh. Alright. Thanks."

"So what'd she do?" Rahzar asked, his tone changing.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you just decided to get over this on your own."

Donnie sighed. "It's hard to explain."

"No need to worry," Rahzar said. He leaned over to the desk, pulled open the drawer, and retrieved something from within. Donnie's expression brightened. "Write."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** It's hard writing all this feel-y stuff but I like how its turned out.

Just heads up, the original story is undergoing revisions and this story probably will too (hence the new cover image). The last one looked incredibly unprofessional. I'll let you guys know when edits are done. There shouldn't be that much change but the original story is not my best work so I'd feel a lot better knowing my readers saw the best version of it rather than what exists right now.


	28. Fatal Part 1

How did Splinter get that fatal injury?

* * *

New York

A Few Months Ago

Deep beneath the concrete streets of New York City, a familiar figure paced around the lair not knowing what to do with himself in this state.

For the first time in years, a smile found its way to Splinter's face. It wasn't even a small one, he was beaming. Joy rolled off him in waves.

Ten years. Ten years of sorrow, depression, and loneliness. That was going to end. Ten years he had been without his sons, his only family. And finally, finally after all this time, he had contacted them.

He had the mysterious Being in the Astral Plane to thanks for that. He wished he could share his joy with someone but the Being had resumed its passive manner and there wasn't anyone in the sewers who he could express his happiness to.

But he found that he didn't care too much for soon he could once again have company. Real company. Real people in his home. Soon, he would never feel loneliness.

Splinter glanced at the crude drawing of a calendar that he had made on dirty, old butcher paper taped to the wall. Beside it was an equally crude drawing of a map. He rarely looked to this wall. He had no need for knowing the time or date nor the location of any given place. Finally they had a use though.

Splinter walked up to the wall and stroked his beard as his eyes scanned the columns and numbers. He suddenly became aware of his lack of hygiene. His beard wasn't the same thin strand that it used to be. He ran his paw over his jawline. He should probably clean up his act a bit if he was going to be around people again.

Splinter's tail curled in excitement. He'd have to start getting ready. He wouldn't overdo it of course but his living conditions were pretty lousy and he didn't want his sons to see what squalor their old home had become.

He'd put in some effort over the years but he never really worked too hard to make the lair a very pleasant place. Looking around, the old rat saw he had a lot of work ahead of him.

But that would have to wait. Recalling the image of the Earth shown to him by the Being, Splinter knew that his sons lived very far from New York and it would take awhile for them to arrive so in the meantime Splinter would just have to carry on as he usually did. Only now it wouldn't be so bad. After all, he had something to look forward to.

* * *

When Splinter woke one morning, he was hit with confusion. He always woke to stiffness in his muscles and light in his eyes but nothing was pushing him out of sleep other than no longer having a reason to rest.

Splinter sat up and looked around. He found himself in his bed. He sat there, stunned, for a bit. He could remember the last time he'd slept in his bed. Slowly, the memory of the previous night trickled back into his groggy mind. He'd spent the night looking through his old collection of books in his room rather than training or meditating in the dojo.

Splinter shook his head, trying to get over his shock with himself. For many years, he had worked himself in the dojo all day and night, only sleeping when he passed out from exhaustion. Only now he saw how bad his old habits were but that didn't mean he forgot why he had them. He had to distract himself from his pain and loneliness.

Pulling himself out of the bed, Splinter thought with some pride of how he's changed over the past couple months. This was the first time he'd fallen asleep in his bed but he hadn't fallen asleep in the dojo in weeks. He didn't spend much time there, he was always doing something around the lair. He even went into his sons' rooms on occasion without having all those negative emotions rushing his mind.

With a small smile on his face, Splinter wandered out of his room to the common area to figure out what to do for the day. Just as he began descending from the elevated area where the rooms were, his stomach growled. He paused a moment before heading towards the kitchen.

Splinter opened one of the cabinets over the counter and drew a can of soup. He looked at it in his hand and stared a moment. He really needed to add some variety to his diet. On his supply raids, he always grabbed whatever would last the longest so he didn't have to go up very often. He never did much so he never needed much nutrients but now…

Splinter got a pot and filled it with water. He set it on the stove and flicked it on. It didn't light. He tried again and got the same results. He sighed. He'd have to fix it later.

In the meantime, he'd have to find something else to eat. He lifted the can to look at it once more. The label didn't say if it was alright to eat without cooking or not. He was a rat so he had a resilient body and he was sure that humans wouldn't put anything that bad into their food but he put the can back in the cabinet anyway. He was getting tired of soup anyway and looking around the lair, he knew he'd have to go on a supply run today.

Glancing at the clock and seeing that there wasn't anything else to do at the moment, Splinter decided to get a head start and headed out into the sewers.

* * *

Splinter pulled his head further over his head as he felt a shadow cast down the alleyway pass as he rummaged through a large trash container. He held his breath for a moment, trying not to breathe in the foul air as he drove his arm deep into the trash bags. With a clawed hand, he sliced the plastic open, sending the contents spilling out into the larger container.

Splinter turned his head to take a breath in preparation to dive in but as he did, he saw another shadow out of the corner of his eye. He retracted his arm and pulled his cloak close to him. His sharp eyes flitted around warily.

The rat heard something flying through the air. He ducked. A throwing star cut through the air just where his head had been. Splinter's stomach was filled with fear.

"No…" he whispered and looked to the sky, scanning the rooftops for enemies. He had been so careful. Why now of all times? Over the past ten years, Splinter had been caught by Foot Soldiers a number of times and each time, it had been a mere inconvenience. Now his freedom had meaning. He couldn't get caught now, not when he had something to look forward to. Something to live for.

Splinter's ear flicked as he detected another weapon flying towards him. He leaned to the side. He saw a kunai embed itself in the wall behind him.

Realizing that standing in the alleyway made him too easy of a target, Splinter leaped to the wall, pushing off it to leap up onto the roof. He scanned the horizon, looking for Foot Soldiers on the rooftops once more but he didn't spot any.

In an instant, they were surrounding him. Splinter blinked in surprise. They had come out of nowhere.

One of the ninja rose a single hand and gave a few hand signals. A small number of the ninja abandoned formation and ran off into the distance. Splinter's stomach tightened. There was no doubt they were going for reinforcements. That meant he had to defeat these ninjas, escape, cover his trail, and get back home or into another hideout before they got back.

If he had been the rat or man he used to be, Splinter wouldn't be worried but it was undeniable that he was aging and years of neglecting his body and training certainly didn't help.

The ninjas held a variety of weapons. The one that seemed to be in charge held a sword unfamiliar to Splinter. He was the only one with a blade. Good. That made him easy to keep track of.

The sword user rose a hand gave another hand signal. A ninja wielding a mace, a pair of ninjas with tonfa, and a few ninja with throwing stars holding throwing stars in their curled hands stepped forward towards Splinter and into the center of the ring.

The throwing stars were thrown first. Splinter leaned and waved around them without much difficulty. He straightened and spun, catching the final four throwing stars between his index and middle fingers and ring and little fingers on each hand. In his rotation, he saw that none of the ninja overshot and hit their allies. They were smart enough to know that throwing them in a ring like this would cause their weapons to hit their friends on the opposite side and they were skilled enough to avoid it.

The ninjas seemed impressed by Splinter's evasion skills too. Splinter rose his arms, crossing them, in preparation to throw them. The ninjas tensed, guard increased.

Splinter sensed movement. He ducked and a blow from one of the tonfa users flew over his head. Splinter quickly slipped the throwing stars into his sleeves and pressed his palms to the ground to hold his weight as he kicked out behind him. His feet connected with the tonfa user's legs, sending him sailing back into the surrounding ninja. The spectators caught him and pushed him back forward into the center of the ring. Splinter frowned. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Just as Splinter looked away, the mace came swinging towards him. Ducking wasn't going to cut it this time. The rat took a small leap backwards.

The momentum of the swinging mace caused the ninja holding it to lose his balance for a moment but he recovered quickly and swung it back up. He rose it to chest level and took a step towards Splinter. Splinter took a step backward as the ninja swept his weapon horizontally through the air. The ninja didn't put in much effort to aim, he put pure power into the swing.

The ninja began constantly swinging his weapon this way, taking a step forward with each swing, forcing Splinter to move back with each attack.

Splinter heard a faint rush as more throwing stars flew at him. Splinter poured his energy into his legs and took a flying leap into the air. The height surprised even him. He leaped clean over the heads of his adversaries.

Twisting in the air, Splinter cleared the circle and landed on the edge of the rooftop. Not waiting for the ninjas to realize where their target had gone, the rat jumped to the next rooftop and began running.

"After him!" barked the head ninja. Splinter immediately heard the patter of footsteps racing after him.

Something was sailing through the air behind him. Splinter dropped down between two buildings to dodge. He glanced up and saw the mace sail over the opening. Splinter swallowed. If he had been hit by that, he would have probably broken his back.

The two tonfa users suddenly appeared above him, peering down at him in the alleyway. Splinter cursed to himself. By dropping down to street level, he made himself an easier target to the long distance fighters above and severely limited his mobility. He couldn't exactly run out on the streets like he ran on the roof.

Or could he. Splinter decided he didn't really care. Drawing his robe closer around him, Splinter dashed out of the alleyway into the streets.

His actions apparently surprised the ninja too. So much that one of the tonfa users dropped their sworn silence. "What in the world is the rat doing?"

"Quiet," snapped the other. "Just follow him. The boss or the beta will be here soon. I'd like to have the rat caught when whichever it is arrives."

Splinter heard the ninjas drop down as he burst from the shadows into the light. He heard a woman scream. It startled him enough to pause and look around.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, one hand on her chest and the other clutching her bag tightly. "You startled me, jumping out like that."

"My apologies," Splinter said. Suddenly, throwing stars rained down from above. Moving without thought, Splinter tackled the woman down, away from the stars. Realizing what he did, Splinter quickly got up and pulled his hood down.

He looked down at her. She looked terrified but thankfully, her eyes were focused on the ninjas on the rooftops, not on him.

"Please, call the police," Splinter requested. He doubted they could do much and if they were around, the risk of being out on the streets increased for the mutant but maybe the Foot Soldiers would back off. "These men, they're after me."

The woman, still stunned, nodded and Splinter took off again. The pedestrians seemed panicked, having seen nothing like this before but Splinter ignored them. They were unimportant.

Splinter's mind drifted to what the tonfa users had been talking about. They said the boss or the beta were coming. He knew that the boss was surely the Shredder but he didn't know who this beta was. Splinter had been caught a number of times and he'd heard talk of the beta but had never seen the man himself nor did he know his actual name. In addition to their rank title, Splinter knew ninjas often had another name, just as his own had been Splinter in his time with the Hamato Clan.

Splinter heard another wave of throwing stars being flung. Splinter skidded to a stop and lashed out at a lamppost with a kick. The metal post snapped. Splinter grabbed it and jabbed at it with two fingers so that he was just holding a piece of metal. Sparks of electricity flew from where the post had been torn off.

Splinter spun the remnants of the post, deflecting the sharp weapons. Dozens clattered to the ground in mere seconds. Splinter dropped the pole and gathered up as many of the throwing stars as he could before taking off again.

The ninjas continued to follow him from the rooftops but this time there was a difference. Splinter was far more heavily armed.

As he ran down the street, Splinter slowly began picking off his pursuers with well aimed and subtle throws. He managed to run several blocks before anyone noticed.

"Watch his hands!" the sword user called. He was hanging back in the group. He didn't even have his sword out. It was still strapped to his back. It was clear that he had the intent of swooping in the moment Splinter stopped or let his guard down.

Despite not seeing him in action yet, Splinter knew that man was far superior to the squad. He wore the usual Foot Soldier uniform which had thrown off Splinter's perception of him but the man was likely a higher ranked ninja. Ninjas considered Foot Soldiers were usually low level ninja. This man was at least a middle level ninja.

Of course, in his days in Japan, Splinter had been a high ranked ninja and he had no doubt that he would be able to defeat this sword user if he didn't managed to escape before that time came.

Flinging another throwing star, another ninja was hit. Splinter saw a splash of red but ignored it. He didn't care for these humans. He almost believed that he cared for no humans, not anymore, but his heart wouldn't let him. However, his heart could never go out to these people.

Two ninja broke from the groups on either side of the street and leaped down in front of him, forcing Splinter to stop. They were the tonfa users again. Splinter had to admit he hadn't given them as much credit as they deserve either. They clearly stood out from the rest of the ninjas on the squad.

No one moved for a moment. Splinter took the opportunity to look around. Not many ninja remained and it seemed the majority of them had gone back for their fallen clanmates. The sword user was still hanging back and Splinter couldn't see the mace user anywhere.

Splinter shifted his attention back to the tonfa users once more. The duo both held their weapons up, one defensive, one offensive. Splinter's mind briefly drifted to when he tried to teach his two eldest sons how to use this weapon but he shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. If he thought about them now, he would never see them again.

Surprisingly, the defender moved first. Staying low, he rushed forward, weapon aimed at Splinter's stomach. Splinter turned, revealing his tail. He lashed it like a whip, knocking one of the tonfa away. The defender rose his other arm and blocked the next strike with the long part of his weapon.

The offender rushed forward, leaping over his partner to aim at Splinter's face. Splinter didn't have time to dodge. He was struck hard and knocked off his feet. Splinter didn't go flying. He rolled with the blow and moved back a few steps. Within seconds, his arms were back up, ready to fight.

"Hmm. I see you two are worthy opponents," Splinter said. Neither ninja spoke. He hadn't expected them to. Ninjas did not speak when in uniform unless by mistake or if they were of higher rank. "But my days of seeking worthy battle are over."

Splinter slid the remaining throwing stars out of his sleeves and hurled them at his opponents. Both rose their weapons to block. There were only four stars. Two throwing stars embedded themselves into the tonfa of the offender, one embedded itself into the defender's tonfa and the fourth hit his exposed arm.

No cries of pain sounded but blood splattered on the tonfa user's black uniform. With his opponents distracted, Splinter took the chance to run again.

Splinter ran a few blocks before turning into an alleyway where he knew there was a manhole. Just as he stepped back into the shadows, a final ninja dropped down in front of him, blade held up menacingly.

Splinter slid into a defensive position but the sword user seemed uninterested in attacking at this exact moment in time.

"You know how hard it is to find you, rat?" The sword user straightened and fluidly moved his sword so it was pointed at Splinter's throat but the rat was still out of range. The ninja would have to take a step to attack, Splinter knew he was safe for a few moments. At least until the ninja was done saying whatever it was he wanted to say. Good. It gave the old rat time to catch his breath. He hadn't run far but his body was unused to it.

"I believe that is an essential skill for a ninja to have," Splinter responded.

The sword user scoffed. "You're no ninja, not anymore."

"So a mutant cannot be a ninja? Is that what you believe?"

"I said nothing about mutants, rat," the ninja said to Splinter's surprise. "You're just an old man. That body of yours if failing and out of practice."

"We shall see," Splinter said despite having thought the same thing earlier. "A ninja is still a ninja after many decades."

"Doesn't mean the ninja's still any good," the sword user said. He drew his sword back, signaling the fight was going to start soon. "And it certainly doesn't mean you'll do any good against me."

"We shall see," Splinter responded. The ninja lunged forward, the tip of his sword aimed at Splinter's stomach. Splinter turned, letting the sword bypass him but the ninja saw this coming and swung his blade flat. The edge sliced through his robes but Splinter backed up into the wall and propelled himself away before any damage to his flesh could occur.

The ninja didn't let up. He rotated his wrist so the blade was upright once more and darted towards his target. Splinter put two hands up and caught the blade in his hands.

"Impressive," the ninja said, pushing down on the blade. Splinter grit his teeth, shaking as he pushed back. "It takes a lot of training to master that technique."

"You have seen nothing," Splinter responded. He released the blade and leaped back. He glanced at his hands. The move had drawn blood. Splinter frowned. It wasn't much but that hadn't happened in a long time. He was trained in a technique designed to allow him to do that without being hurt. Maybe this Foot Ninja was right. Maybe he was getting too old for his skills as a ninja to be of much use in a real fight.

The ninja rushed again. Splinter ducked as the sword swept over his head. At eye level with his opponent's stomach, he struck out with his signature two fingered jab. The ninja gave a small sound of pain but did not retreat back. He finished the sweep through the air and tossed the blade into his other hand before bringing it down.

Lightning fast, Splinter was several feet back, crouched. The sword made contact with the ground, leaving a large crack in the cement.

Splinter eyed the man, tail lashing wildly behind him, waiting for his next move. Ninjas always struck first, a samurai always moved second. Splinter was a ninja but this ninja was clearly skilled as he was. He knew he had to rely on what he had learned from ninja-kind's greatest enemy to defeat this man.

To his surprise, the ninja did not move to attack immediately. Instead, he reached for his mask and peeled it off before discarding it. He looked at Splinter with hard, brown eyes so dark they were almost black.

Splinter blinked in surprise. Never before had he seen an enemy ninja remove his mask before him, especially not in the middle of a fight.

His opponent's appearance surprised him. While he did have black hair, he was clearly not of asian descent which was uncommon in the Foot Clan. Saki had always had an obsession with pure blood but for some reason, here was a white man in the Foot Clan.

The man wasn't completely pale which meant he didn't wear a mask at all times. That was bad news for Splinter. Only highly ranked ninja had that honor.

With a face to go with the body, Splinter could see that this was an experienced man. His eyes were confident which reflected in the way he held himself. The man was well muscled too, he clearly trained often.

"It is courtesy for the opponent to reveal his face when the other does," the ninja spoke.

Splinter had never heard that before but he lifted a hand to remove his hood, warily watching the ninja in case this was just a ruse to distract him but the ninja did not move.

Red eyes met brown. One pair shone with emotion and age, the other pair with focus and youth yet Splinter saw a light behind them. It was just suppressed.

Splinter was about to question him but the ninja rose his sword and stood directly in front of Splinter in a split second. Splinter had no time to react, the blade was pressed into his side before he knew what was happening.

The ninja pulled the sword back, slicing through the fabric of Splinter's robe and into his flesh. Splinter cried out in pain. The ninja withdrew, blood shining on his sword. Splinter fell to his knees and clutched his side.

Splinter looked up at the ninja. The man made no effort to move.

"The Shredder wants you alive," the ninja told him, answering Splinter's unspoken question to why he wasn't dead. "I'm not one to go against orders."

"As you should be," a voice said from the shadows. The ninja turned and bowed to the figure who suddenly appeared in the alleyway. Like Splinter, the newcomer's body was completely covered but his form was much larger. He was huge.

"Bria- uhh… Beta- you came just in time," the ninja said, still bowed. Splinter stared at the hulking form. So this was the beta who he had heard so much about.

"You've done well, Cooper," the Beta said.

"Remember, it's Delta," the nina said, rising. "If you insist that we use these titles on the field, you've actually got to use them."

"You are out of your proper uniform," the Beta said, "so you will be called by your name."

"You're out of uniform too," the Delta, Cooper, said with a smile. "Should I call you Brian? Or is it Jacob now?"

"Jacob but you can call me as you please, just not in front of the rat," the Beta said. He reached up and pulled down his hood, revealing the head of a cockroach. Splinter flinched as the mutant's eyes stared into him. It was terrifying. "The ranks in the Foot call me the Cockroach Terminator. That is what you, rat, will call me if you need to speak to me but you shouldn't."

"Are you taking him to the Shredder?" Cooper asked.

"We are taking him to the boss," the Cockroach Terminator responded. This surprised Splinter. He had never heard of Foot Soldiers caring for one another yet the Beta seemed to want to share credit with his inferior.

The Cockroach Terminator looked down at Splinter. A hand shot out from his covering and grabbed Splinter by the throat. Splinter choked, unable to breathe. The Cockroach Terimator's orange eyes stared into his. Splinter clawed at his arm in a futile effort to get free.

The mutant released Splinter after a minute and the rat collapsed onto the ground, gasping and clutching his bleeding side.

"Why'd you do that?" Cooper asked.

"Makes him easier to carry," the Cockroach Terminator said. He grabbed Splinter again and hoist him onto his back. "Come on. We're heading back to base."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Emotions. Fighting. Foreshadowing to things I only have vaguely planned.

If you don't remember Cooper and Brian, look back to Assistant Part 1 and Thanksgiving. They are important characters. If you don't remember the Terminator/ the Cockroach Terminator, look back to Henchmutants. If you're still confused, connect the dots.

jk, I wouldn't make you do that. Turns out Chris/ Dogpound/ Rahzar's brothers are in the Foot and it turns out they're pretty highly ranked too. If you don't know Greek letters and rankings, Beta is second in command and Delta is fourth meaning we haven't seen Gamma, third, yet.

The chapter called Fires has been deleted because I don't like it and this chapter got long so I decided to make it a two-parter.

Also, this story may soon go under editing. I want both the original and prequel of Four Corners of the Earth to be good before the upcoming sequel is out.


	29. Fatal Part 2

The Cockroach Terminator, no longer covering his face, reached back and grabbed Splinter from his place on his back and flung him across the room. Splinter grunted as he skidded across the room. A smear of blood from his wound appeared on the silver floor.

Splinter tried to pull himself together but he barely managed to push himself up. He looked around. He had been in this room many times before. It was the throne room of the Foot's New York headquarters. On either side of him, the walls and floor were glass. He was laying on the silver and black path leading up to the stairs.

Atop the steps sat a chair as black as the darkest stone. The Shredder rose from his seat. From beneath the Kuro Kabuto, his eyes gleamed.

"Well done, Hoizer," the Shredder spoke, his gaze not leaving the bleeding rat.

Splinter did not know who Hoizer was but apparently that was what the Shredder called the Cockroach Terminator. How many names did this guy have?

"The credit goes to the Delta and his squad," the Cockroach Terminator spoke. He did not bow. It was clear that he was equal, or at least close to being equal, to the Shredder.

"I see," the Shredder said. "Hoizer, reward them as you see fit. Now leave us."

"Yes sir," the Cockroach Terminator said. He turned around and beckoned Cooper, the Delta, to follow him. Cooper did not turn his back to the Shredder. Instead, he lowered his head and backed out of the room leaving Splinter alone in the dark room with his greatest enemy.

"It has been a long time, rat," the Shredder spat. He took a step towards him. Splinter curled back instinctively but defiantly glared at his former kin.

"Not long enough, Saki," Splinter responded.

The Shredder ignored him. "How fitting it is that you would show your face now. After all this time, you appear when I need you most."

Splinter was confused. Had something happened that he didn't know about? Was the Shredder ready to put aside his hatred and accept the truth?

Based off the look in his one good eye, it didn't seem so. The Shredder still held that hateful, murderous gleam in his eye.

The Shredder walked closer. Splinter began crawling back. He tried to stand but pain shot up from his side from his wound.

The Shredder grabbed him by the front of his robe coverings and looked him dead in the eye. Splinter's eyes shone with emotion as he stared back. He knew it was futile to try to talk to him but he knew he couldn't fight so he had to try anyway. "Saki…"

"Save it, rat," the Shredder said. "You have escaped far too many times and with your death, I will be cleared of my past."

Splinter blinked. What was he talking about?

"The Foot Clan has grown in strength," the Shredder said, still holding him. He held up his free hand and unsheathed his claws. "Soon we will take this world. With you gone, I will have no ties to my old life and I will be free to rule this pathetic world."

"W-what?" Splinter stuttered. His confused expression hardened. "Do you really believe you can take over the world, Saki? If you do then you are a fool. Not one clan in all of history had the strength to take over Japan let alone the world."

The Shredder scoffed. "I don't expect you to understand but of course I'm aware of this. All you need to know is your death will be the final step to the Foot Clan reaching its full strength so we can assist our allies in this endeavor."

The Shredder, swift as the fastest bird, lowered his clawed hand and jabbed the blades right into Splinter's abdomen. Splinter screamed as he felt the metal drive right through him. The Shredder gave a small, satisfied smirk and pulled his weapon out of him, allowing the mutant to drop to the ground.

Splinter gasped in pain. His older wound was still bleeding but the smears turned to pools as his new injury oozed with fresh, warm blood. He lay on his side, clutching himself, trying to stay conscious.

"It would be wise to end you quickly but you don't deserve the mercy," the Shredder spoke and backed up to sit on the bottom step of the stairs leading up to his throne. "Your death will be slow and painful."

Splinter forced his hands away from their place on his wound and held them together. He closed his eyes and began to twist and curl his hands into various hand signs. "Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen."

"Ah, the Healing Hands," the Shredder observed. "Interesting. This will make things fun."

Splinter pressed his now glowing hands against his wound. Immediately, the pain began to fade. He exhaled in relief. He knew he shouldn't have revealed the technique in front of the Shredder but he had to do something or he would have bled out right then and there.

The Shredder got up and kicked Splinter hard right in his healing wound. Splinter cried out. He pushed himself away and up into a crouch. He nearly fell over. His wounds may be healed enough for him to move but he was still suffering from the loss of blood.

Instead of moving towards him to attack again, the Shredder merely clapped his hands. Two Foot Soldiers dropped down from above and bowed to their master.

"You." the Shredder pointed to one of the ninja. "Retrieve the Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Elite. You," the Shredder continued, pointing to the other ninja, "with me. We are taking this rat to a cell."

"Permission to speak?" one of the ninjas requested.

"Granted."

"Permission to question?"

"Granted," the Shredder responded, voice hard. It was clear he didn't like being questioned but was willing to hear from this underling.

"You said it yourself, master," the Foot Soldier said. "This one has escaped too many times. It would be wise to kill him now."

"Indeed but do not worry, henchman," the Shredder told him. "I have prepared for such."

The Foot Soldier bowed and ran out of the room. The other Foot Soldier moved towards Splinter. He tried to grab him but Splinter shoved him away. The Foot Soldier stumbled back and drew a series of throwing stars once he regained his balance.

"No," the Shredder instructed. The Foot Soldier put is weapons away as the Shredder took a step towards the rat. Splinter tried to further back up but found he was against a wall. The Shredder rose a fist and boxed Splinter hard. "Allow me."

Splinter tried dodging but the Shredder was prepared for this and his blow still made contact. Splinter was knocked back into the wall where he slumped over. Splinter looked up and saw the Shredder grab him as his vision began to fade into unconsciousness.

* * *

When Splinter woke, he felt cold, hard stone against his skin. His eyes snapped open immediately, wasting no time to get up and look around.

The rat mutant was in a cell. Splinter frowned. He'd since his first escape, he'd never been around long enough to be put back in his rat cage but he always assumed that's where he'd end up again, not a cell.

Peering out of the cell's cars, he knew he was in some kind of dungeon likely beneath the Foot Clan's base.

"It seems the rat has woken. Hoizer, Bradford, come," a voice said.

Splinter looked around, not seeing anyone. Out of the shadows slipped a black clad ninja with a long sword strapped to his back. Splinter heard two sets of footsteps as Cooper and the Cockroach Terminator came in.

Both Cooper and the Cockroach Terminator were unmasked as was the ninja that Splinter didn't recognize. The new ninja, however, was looked far more like a member of the Foot Clan than the other two. Cooper was caucasian which was uncommon in ninja clans and the Cockroach Terminator was, obviously, a mutant so Splinter couldn't tell much about him but judging by his voice, he was American. The new ninja, on the other hand, was clearly of Asian descent.

"Address us with the proper respect, Swordsman," the Cockroach Terminator instructed.

"My apologies, Beta," the Swordsman said. He dipped his head. The dungeon was dark but light trickled in from above. It caught in his eyes. Splinter shivered at the sight of them. They were unsettling but he couldn't place why. "But if you insist I call you by your rank, I insist you call me by mine."

"This is so over complicated," Cooper exasperated. He looked to the Cockroach Terminator. "You changed your actual name and your code name and you have a rank name." He looked at the Swordsman. "You have an actual name that's impossible to remember and you have a code name and you're the Gamma. Don't you guys think that's a bit excessive?"

"No," the Swordsman stated.

"Do you want a code name?" the Cockroach Terminator asked.

"Yes. Please. I was going to take Swordsman but someone took it," Cooper said with a glare at his fellow human.

Splinter was confused by their antics. Here were the three highest ranking ninja of the Foot Clan, other than the Shredder himself of course, and they seemed to have no rivalries or tensions between themselves. They didn't even address each other in respectful tones. Their requests to be called by their ranked title seemed to be humoring them.

"I am far more skilled with the blade than you, Delta," the Swordsman said. He drew his sword was if to prove it. He demonstrated a few strokes before putting it away once again. "I was your teacher after all."

"Doubt it but I don't really feel like arguing with you about that right now," Cooper responded. He looked in Splinter's direction though the cell's bars. "Don't we have a rat to deal with?"

"That sounds about right," the Cockroach Terminator smirked. He moved forward from the back of the group to press his head against the bars. Splinter leaned away, pressing his back into the back wall of his cell. The mutant's head was revolting. He couldn't understand how these other ninjas could stand there so calm with something so hideous around. "Who wants the first crack at him?"

"If I recall, the Shredder mentioned something about the Healing Hands," the Swordsman said. "This is an opportunity we simply mustn't pass up. I believe a change of location is in order."

Cooper grinned. "Does that mean I get to knock him out?"

"This cell is perfectly fine, Swordsman," the Cockroach Terminator said. "The Shredder is just letting us have some fun with him before he gets his own shot at him. Moving him would give him more chances to escape."

The Swordsman sighed. "He could very easily escape from this cell if he so desired but who am I to question the Shredder?"

"Don't worry, Gamma. The fly guy reinforced the cells so they can't be destroyed with normal ninjitsu," Cooper spoke up.

"Alright then," the Swordsman said with a grin. He drew his sword and grinned. "Beta, would you do the honor?"

"These hands can't work no lock," the Cockroach Terminator responded. "Coop?"

"I got it," Cooper said and pulled a key out of his pocket. He unlocked the door, swinging it wide open.

Splinter got to his feet and into a fighting stance. "You have made a grave mistake."

Cooper gave him a hard smile. "Nah. My buddies here know what they're doing and they've got me to make sure you don't escape." Cooper took a few steps back. "Hoizer, Tattsu, the fun's all yours. I don't really get a kick out of torture like you two do."

Both the Cockroach Terminator and the Swordsman grinned. The Cockroach Terminator dropped down to all fours. A spinning razor blade and a number of bladed objects emerged from his body. Splinter swallowed as the two stepped into his cell.

* * *

"Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha. Kai…. Jin. Retsu…. Zai…. Zen," Splinter uttered weakly from where he lay in a pool of his own blood on the cell floor. The grey stone was still visible through the deep, rich red but it was sure to be stained for a while to come.

Fear filled the mutant rat as he curled his hands into the various hand signs and began to close his wounds. The Cockroach Terminator and the Swordsman stood over him menacingly. Cooper sat on the other side of the dungeon playing with some keys.

"How long do you think he can keep doing that?" the Swordsman asked.

"I don't know, you're the ninja not me, Tastu," the Cockroach Terminator responded.

"I will never succumb to the likes of you," Splinter hissed.

"Good. I still have a number of… additions I need to test out," the Cockroach Terminator said. "I don't get to use them much, some of them need repairs."

"Yes, it seems your third degree spinning razor has some faults," the Swordsman nodded.

"Coop, add that one to the list," the Cockroach Terminator called back, his voice echoing through the dungeon. Cooper gave a thumbs up and began writing something on a piece of paper he drew from his pocket. The Cockroach Terminator turned his attention back to Splinter. "Hmm… let's see… what to do next."

Splinter swallowed, dreading what came next. He's long since lost track of the hours that had passed but he knew that each one filled with cutting, tearing, and breaking of his physical body had gotten worse than the last.

To his relief, the Delta spoke up. "Hey, the boss man only gave us a short amount of time. He wants the rat to himself. We just get him to waste his energy using the Healing Hands so he could do this own thing."

The Swordsman put away his bloodied sword without question but Cockroach Terminator let out a grumbled sigh. "You never let me have any fun."

"I let you have every one of my turns, bro," Cooper sighed. "And you are never satisfied."

"Just close up the cell," the Cockroach Terminator told him, backing up and out the door with the Swordsman close behind. Splinter relaxed slightly, showing one small sign of relief.

"Don't think your worries are over yet, rat," the Swordsman said as he walked out of the dungeon. Splinter blinked. How had he sensed that? This Swordsman must be a truly skilled ninja indeed. "Your worries have just begun."

"Hey, where are you going?" the Cockroach Terminator called after him. "We ain't about to just leave 'im here. Precautions and all that. The Shredder would have our heads if he got away."

"Which is why you two are staying here," the Swordsman said, not bothering to look in their direction. "I have to clean my blades. They don't stay sharp if they're not cleaned after use."

The Cockroach Terminator growled under his breath. Cooper rose from where he sat and walked over to stand by the cell door of Splinter's cage. "It's not all bad. We don't even really need to do anything."

"It's not that, I'm just pissed that he ignores rank and all that," the Cockroach Terminator told him. "I'm his superior but he disses me all the freaking time and acts like he expects to be treated as the Beta."

Cooper sighed. "You really should get him in his place. Just last week at one of those meetings we keep having to plan the New York invasion, he convinced those plan maker dudes to put him at the head of one of the forward legions."

"And he put all the mutants on defense," the Cockroach Terminator growled. "For Pete's sake, I'm the Foot Clan second in command and I'm not even part of the invasion. All because of that fool."

Invasion? Splinter's ears perked up.

"I think it's just a him thing," Cooper responded, leaning against the wall. "Like he recognizes your rank and you as a peer but doesn't accept his own inferiority since you're… y'know."

"A mutant?"

"And white. That dude is like the most racist guy I know."

"Truth."

Splinter wanted to tune them out but withheld. He couldn't understand how someone could just sit back and talk like that. And they had such casually mentioned an invasion of New York. He listened in on their conversation, hoping one of them would mention it again but neither did.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The Swordsman is not an OC. I don't like OCs. I just temporarily gave him a new name.

Important: After the next chapter goes up, this story will go on a hiatus for a (hopefully) short period of time for number of reasons:

1) It takes a long time to write these chapters and it takes time to make them good.

2) I haven't really had the motivation to work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories but I have had the motivation to work on other things. I don't want to force this story to ignore something else that could be good.

3) Not many people seem very interested in this story. I will finish it because I hate leaving things unfinished, it will just take awhile.

4) I'm going to go back and do some editing. As you may know, the original story is undergoing a partial rewrite and I am working on a sequel but I've decided that the sequel's upload date is tbd due to the reasons above.


	30. Fatal Part 3

"Hoizer, Bradford." The Shredder nodded to the two men stationed in front of Splinter's cell. The ray still lay on his side, hands pressed against his wounds in an effort to pour the last of his energy into the Healing Hands and mend his body as much as possible before the Shredder came upon him. "Wasn't Tattsu with you?"

"He ditched," the Cockroach Terminator grumbled. "He's starting to get some kinda superiority complex, boss. He's Gamma, dissing Beta…"

"Your personal issues do not concern me," the Shredder stated.

"With all due respect Master Shredder," Cooper bowed, "this is not a personal issue, we get along just fine and if the Gamma is testing the Beta, there is a chance he will test you as well."

"That is something we can concern ourselves with after the invasion," the Shredder said. Splinter twitched his ears at that word again. Invasion. They keep mentioning it. He removed his paws from the injuries left by the Swordsman and the Cockroach Terminator's weapons and pulled himself off the floor into a squat, glaring at his adopted brother but uttering no words. He still wasn't close to full strength. Any amount of time without violence was a blessing.

But that wouldn't last long. The Shredder turned to tower over Splinter with an aura of menace about him. "It seems I have you once again, Hamato Yoshi. Hoizer, has he used up all of his spiritual energy?"

The Cockroach Terminator nodded. "I think so. Tattsu know more about it than I do so I can't really tell but he used those hands of his everytime we stopped to switch weapons."

The Shredder's good eye scanned Splinter's body, inspecting him. Splinter flinched under the scrutiny in his gaze, feeling violated by the look. It made the hairs on his body prickle.

Thanks to the Cockroach Terminator and the Swordsman, Splinter's robe coverings were long gone and the remains were scattered across the cell, drenched in the blood that soaked the room and the rat's fur. Splinter's body and muscles felt weak but he showed little sign of injury. He questioned if he really should have healed himself so much but shook that thought away. He couldn't be doubtful. Not now. If he had any hope of overtaking the Shredder when he entered, the risks he took healing himself would be worth it.

Splinter tried to pull himself together for the fight to come as he rose to a crouch, head lowered and glowering at the Shredder. "I will walk free today, Saki."

The Shredder merely blinked. "I have been debating whether or not to keep you alive to see the Foot's rein over this pathetic American city but I do believe that your death will cut off the Foot's last tie to its past and allow it to have the strength needed. Today, Yoshi, you will die."

Splinter let out a feral hiss. It surprised him to hear that sound from his own mouth but paid it no mind. He was going to fight his brother today and he would need his abilities gained from his mutant body to do so.

Splinter launched himself at the armored man, claws out, teeth exposed, lips peeled back in a snarl. The Shredder was unfazed by the show of aggression and leaned to the side, allowing Splinter to sail right by him.

Splinter landed on the ground outside his cell on all fours. He whipped around, ready for the fight. The Shredder remained with his back to him but his subordinates at either side of him took a step towards him. The Shredder rose a hand, halting them. "Leave us."

"Boss?" the Cockroach Terminator questioned.

"Leave us!" the Shredder bellowed, turning on them. The claws on his gauntlets unsheathed and gleamed in the sliver of light present in the room.

Cooper and the Cockroach Terminator each dipped their heads in a swift bow and hurried out of the room leaving Splinter alone in what he presumed was the Foot Clan's dungeon with the Shredder.

With movement almost too fast for the eye to follow, the Shredder was towering over the crouched rat, fist raised. Splinter rolled to the side, narrowly dodging it. The Shredder's fist went straight into the ground, cracking the stone. Spinter's eyes widened. A strike like that would be deadly if it hit.

Splinter took the opportunity to put some distance between the two as the Shredder removed his weapon from the ground. In a moment, the two were facing each other, each standing in a traditional combat stance. Both had their feet placed wide for stability but the Shredder's arms were raised for offense while SPlinter's were positioned for defense. Splinter was already breathing a bit harder but the Shredder looked like the fight had just begun.

The Shredder moved first. Splinter weaved around a flurry of blows then leaped to avoid the hidden kick he sensed coming. Midair, Splinter backed into the wall and kicked off, launching himself over the Shredder's head, slapping the Foot Clan's leader in the head with his tail as he passed.

The Kuro Kabuto was knocked clean off the Shredder.s head and clattered to the ground, exposing the Shredder's burned, twisted face. Splinter gave a faint gasp but he didn't catch himself in time. The Shredder had heard him.

The Shredder growled. "You see what you have done to me?"

"Anything done to you was brought upon you by yourself," Splinter said sadly as he landed. Leaning forward, he rushed forward, fingers pressed together, and landed a hard blow on the Shredder's armored abdomen. As powerful as the attack was, it probably hurt Splinter more than it did the Shredder. The Shredder grunted at the impact.

Before the Shredder could grap bim, SPlinter split his hands and dg his claws into the Shredder's hips. He focused his inner power into his hands and tore his hands down, ripping the armor clean off the Shredder's burned body.

Or at least that was what he tried to go. All he really managed to do was drag his claws down the Shredder's armor. Splinter cursed himself mentally. He had used up all of his inner energy to perform the Healing Hands so he could be at full strength for this fight. He had forgotten he needed that same energy to attack. Major mistake on his part. He felt foolish for overlooking that.

The Shredder's hands clasped around the rat's shoulder's before he could retreat. The Shredder lifted him into the air and threw him down then slammed his elbow down hard on Splinter's stomach. Splinter let out a choked cry and felt his consciousness threaten to leave him.

"You are a fool, Yoshi," the Shredder said, "if you believed someone as weak as yourself could escape the Foot Clan."

Splinter opened his mouth to speak but when he looked up, he saw the Shredder peering down at him. The armored man rose a fist and brought it down, sending Splinter into darkness.

* * *

When Splinter opened his eyes, he was greeted with a familiar sight though not an expected one. He was in the Astral Plane, swirling colors and all. Splinter looked around for the tree, the anchor, but couldn't see it. He frowned. That was odd.

Movement caught his eye. Splinter sat up and found the Being crouched at his side. Splinter blinked. "Hello."

The Being, as per usual, said nothing. He rose a hand a softly jabbed Splinter between the eyes with two fingers. Splinter flinched instinctively then braced, expecting something to happen but nothing did, leaving him confused.

"What did you do?" Splinter questioned. The Being gave a faint gesture. Splinter, not knowing what it meant, began looking around. It was only when he fully turned he saw something out of the ordinary. Behind him, in thin air, were two massive windows. "What…?"

The Being said nothing. Splinter watched as the windows darkened then brightened, like they were blinking.

Through the windows, initially all he could see was grey, like stone, but as the image began to move, something else came into view.

"Saki," Splinter whispered, realizing that the windows were showing the Shredder's feet.

The windows began moving and Splinter saw is own arms push against the ground. Splinter shot the Being a concerned look. "Are you controlling by body?"

The Being merely nodded. Then, he spoke.

"You're body is weak and damaged. It will never recover but it will die if we leave it with the Shredder."

Splinter's astral form blinked, shocked to hear the Being speak after all these years. His expression soon regained its composure. Splinter gave a sharp nod. "Then let us leave this place."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I know it's short but that's why this story is going on hiatus. I am just having a hard time keeping this story flowing.

See that Author's Note on the previous chapter for hiatus reasons and details.


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